The process of the transfer of land from the Princess Juliana International Airport Holding company (PJIAH) to the government for the construction of the Weather Bureau and Civil Aviation buildings has been set in motion, following discussions between Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunications Grisha Heyliger-Marten and PJIAH management.
The land transfer issue has been pending for almost a decade, resulting in increasing
rental expenses for government. The land in question measures some 1,200 square meters at the
location of the Air Traffic Control Tower.
“One of the reasons the Met Office and Civil Aviation projects have not been able to get
off the ground is because of the issue of the land transfer which has not been resolved,”
Heyliger-Marten disclosed. “This needs urgent resolution and I’m happy to hear that an
assessment and valuation of the proposed division of the land has already begun,” she added.
The minister said about NAfl 8 million has been reserved in the 2024 budget for the two
projects. The NRPB is also supposed to fund some aspects of the projects. “Therefore, it isn’t for
lack of money but rather due to lack of the necessary attention that the projects have not
progressed all these years,” the minister said.
Another matter that requires immediate attention is the composition of the Supervisory
Board of Directors of PJIAH. The Chairman of the Board, Cleveland Beresford, will be
resigning in a couple of months. This will leave only two board members in place, while a
minimum of three board members is the requirement stipulated in the company’s Articles of
Incorporation.
The process for appointing new board members has already started and is expected to be
completed in approximately one month.
Moreover, PJIAH awaiting the finalization of the risk and financial assessment of the
corporate structure of the company, while it will also address the issue of the limited financial resources for professional and operating expenses. PJIAH, in addition, agreed to develop and implement a Dividends Policy.
The Minister said she was satisfied with the outcome of the introductory meeting with the
management team of PJIAH and assured that she will be following up on all the issues raised.
