Managing Director of the Princess Juliana International Airport, SXM gave a
presentation to the visiting delegation of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) on Monday, which was well received. The eight-member delegation, led
by Mr. Menno Snel, Executive Director of the IMF Executive Board, had
earlier been given a tour of the terminal building.
The presentation included the economic impact of the airport on St.
Maarten’s economy and on SXM’s hub partners as well. Ms. LaBega informed the
IMF delegation that SXM is #1 in General Aviation in the region with The
Bahamas as #2. She said SXM is building a new FBO facility to maintain its
competitive advantage as other airports in the region are aggressively
seeking to cut into its market share.
LaBega, who was accompanied by Kalifa Hickinson, SXM’s Corporate
Communications Specialist, Migdala Artsen-Clarinda, Chief of Administration,
and Robert Brown, Special Projects Coordinator, informed the IMF delegation
about discussions SXM has been having with Southwest Airlines to secure the
service of the carrier to the destination.
The IMF delegation inquired about whether SXM is looking at attracting Asian
carriers to which SXM replied that it has not yet looked into this.
Other areas of discussion included coordination between SXM and the Harbor
Group of Companies in terms of passenger flow as well as the issue of
dividends or concession fees.
Similarly, the IMF delegation were informed about the Moody’s rating of Baa2
which SXM received, the bond issue and the interest rate of 5.5% secured in
refinancing the old loan, which resulted in a savings of over US$10 million
for the airport over the duration of the loan.
Also, the Car Park project and its importance were discussed, especially
since the park would offer government a new revenue stream.
“We were very pleased with the meeting and the response from the delegation
on the information provided,” said LaBega.
For its part, the IMF delegation disclosed that they were preparing a report
on their visit, which will be made public. The report will contain
information garnered from their meetings on the island including the meeting
with SXM.