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Este informe no está disponible en español. CARIBBEAN BUSINESS Raising RameyA Recent Study Outlines New Options For Turning The Old Ramey Base Into The Economic Hub Of Puerto Rico’s Northwestern Region. Implementing It, However, Will Require Vision And Resolve. By EVELYN GUADALUPE-FAJARDO July 31, 2003 Ready for takeoff? Despite 30 years of virtual abandonment, the former Ramey AFB in Aguadilla still holds enormous potential. It has been 30 years since the U.S. government transferred the 3,900-acre former Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla to the Puerto Rico government. Thanks to poor planning and lack of vision, however, its enormous potential for economic development remains almost completely untapped. Through the years, Ramey’s airport—the crown jewel of the sprawling former Air Force base, renamed Rafael Hernandez Airport (RHA)—has suffered considerable damage from hurricanes and inadequate maintenance. Ramey, to some extent, is in a state of disrepair. Much of the aeronautical site and the nonaeronautical property is underutilized or has been completely abandoned. The key to developing Ramey, including the airport and the surrounding lands, into the economic hub of Puerto Rico’s northwestern region lies in the organization chosen to manage it. The Puerto Rico Ports Authority, which owns 1,200 acres (including the airport) of the estimated 3,900 acres at Ramey, hasn’t been able to exploit the facility because of interagency wrangling, political partisanship, or insufficient financial resources. Some believe the Ports Authority has a conflict of interest because it fears the Aguadilla airport would take away valuable business from Luis Muñoz Marin (LMM) International Airport, the island’s only international airport and the agency’s bread-and-butter facility. Whatever the reason, it’s clear the Ports Authority has failed throughout the years to stimulate economic development at RHA. "Rafael Hernandez Airport is like a coffer that contains gold for Puerto Rico and the western region," said Miguel Soto Lacourt, executive director of the Ports Authority. It’s clearly an opportunity the government hasn’t been able to grasp, as it has never adopted a single, comprehensive, long-term plan for the development of the whole facility. Instead it has scattered it around, with parts going to the Ports Authority, parts to the municipality of Aguadilla, and so on. As a result, to this day there are divergent views on how best to use the valuable land—and little concrete development taking place. Aguadilla Mayor Carlos Mendez Martinez agrees that the Ports Authority has been unsuccessful operating RHA. Mendez has been lobbying for years to have the airport and other base property transferred to the municipality. "These types of cargo airports which the government is talking about developing don’t work," Mendez said. "Nowadays, airports focus more on passenger movement than cargo because people spend money and stay at hotels." Jose Suarez, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co., said RHA is in second-rate condition as an airport for tourism purposes and must be upgraded. Ramey was one of the first major U.S. military installations to close in Puerto Rico as a result of downsizing by the Pentagon. The base was an important Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation during the Cold War, part of a network of airfields serving atomic-bomb-carrying B-52s, those airborne fortresses that flew around the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to counter any nuclear strike from the Soviet Union. With the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles, SAC was dismantled and Ramey was no longer needed. The government of Puerto Rico negotiated Ramey’s transfer from the Pentagon between 1971 and 1972, and it was formalized in the first few months of 1973. Subsequently, the management of the base was dispersed among agencies of the commonwealth government. The Ports Authority took over the 11,700-foot runway (the longest in the Caribbean and South America) as well as the largest hangars and buildings. The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. (Pridco) took over the base’s residential housing and promoted the establishment of companies in base structures. The Sports & Recreation Department acquired the management of an 18-hole golf course, the tennis courts, and two swimming pools. No comprehensive plan for the economic development of the facility was adopted. The U.S. Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection, U.S. Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services, commonwealth police, the University of Puerto Rico, and a vocational school currently occupy base structures, but many other buildings lie abandoned. In 1998, the Government Development Bank engaged in a competitive bidding process to award a $300 million project for the airport’s redevelopment to a private company under the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Privatization Pilot Program. Airline expert Dick Murphy, who had a consulting contract with the Economic Development & Commerce Administration (known as Fomento) under the Rossello administration, said RHA and other FAA-funded airports could be privatized under certain conditions. "The U.S. Department of Transportation allowed several state-government-owned airports to be privatized," Murphy said. For example, Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York, was formerly an Air Force base that belonged to the state. It was eventually privatized and developed into a secondary airport so it could relieve some of the traffic at the major New York airports. The GDB issued Requests for Proposals twice because none of the projects presented in the first round met the agency’s requirements. Eventually, four bids from private consortia were considered, but the process was aborted after the 2000 elections. One of the two investment groups vying for the project was Aguadilla Consortium for Transportation, led by the Frankfurt Airport Co. and including aviation industry giant Raytheon Co., Dallas-based real-estate consultant Staubach Co., and San Juan architectural & engineering firm CSA Group. The other consortium, headed by Colorado-based Airport Third Millennium Global LLC (A3M), included Banco Popular Securities; local law firm McConnell Valdes; customs broker Nestor Reyes; Unipro Architects, Engineers & Planners; Roblex Aviation; and Madrid-based Actividades de Construccion y Servicio. Frankfurt Airport Co., which operates the largest passenger and cargo airport in Europe, intended to make Aguadilla an air-cargo hub for the Caribbean and Latin America with a focus on distribution. It also planned a resort & recreation complex to spur tourism in the western part of the island. A3M’s strategy focused on making the airport efficient while expanding it. Part of the blueprint was to link the airport to the Science & Technology Corridor in the island’s western region. The government’s privatization efforts fell through, and the debate continues on whether Ramey should be developed as a facility for cargo or for passenger airlines. Most experts say it should accommodate both. Best-use analysis In 2002, the Ports Authority commissioned a best-use analysis of RHA from local consulting firm Estudios Tecnicos. One can only hope this study doesn’t join the many others collecting dust in some drawer. Some of the firm’s recommendations include converting the property into an aviation-led economic zone/international cargo & logistics center for the Caribbean and Latin America; a passenger airport; a business and industrial park; and a station for repairing, maintaining, and certifying wide-body aircraft. According to the study, the past decade has seen a trend toward for-profit management of airports, as governments are strapped for cash to make needed capital improvements. Their aim is to expand their revenue sources by increasing operational efficiencies and commercial / nonaeronautical activities. Many airports are successfully developing ancillary activities such as industrial parks on airport property. Estudios Tecnicos’ proposed project would entail developing 7.3 million square feet of land. Approximately 3.2 million square feet, or 44% of the land, would be used for buildings and the remaining 4.1 million square feet, or 56% of the land, would be for paved and landscaped areas. The land-use plan on which the firm based its evaluation assumes that from the total 7.3 million square feet, 20% would be for office space and the remaining 80% for industrial warehouse space. If planned well, development activities at RHA would strengthen the overall performance of the island’s aviation system. But the strategy must include some element of each development alternative in order to maximize the airport’s revenue-generating potential. Only by diversifying its sources of aeronautical and nonaeronautical income will RHA be able to implement a long-term strategy and capital investment program capable of attracting the number and caliber of tenants it needs. The best-use study also indicated RHA’s development should be integrated with the potential development of the Port of the Americas. The airport would serve as the catalyst for the economic growth of transportation and related industries in the Caribbean. "Airports nowadays don’t just perform a single purpose," said Soto, who plans to use RHA as a facility for cargo and passengers. "The Aguadilla airport is functional for cargo because it has ample land for expansion as well as the longest runway in the region. It is also viable as a passenger airport because of its distance from LMM airport and its existing infrastructure." Improvements in the pipeline In 2001, the Ports Authority began improvement projects at RHA, which Soto said would entail an investment of $14.3 million (though the accompanying chart indicates the figure is closer to $16 million). The projects, which should be completed by 2004, consist of refurbishing the airport’s domestic-passenger terminal and constructing a new terminal for international passengers. The terminal will have a new air-conditioning system, more seats, and easier access to the waiting area from the parking lot. The refurbishment plan also entails demolishing the abandoned, dilapidated hangar 578 at the airport’s entrance. These changes are expected to bring the facility up to standard, which should attract more airlines to the airport. "We want to take down that broken-down monument because it conveys to tourists that the airport hasn’t been given adequate attention," Soto said. Also pending is the rehabilitation of hangar 403. The project is expected to go out to bid in August for construction to begin in November. Additionally, the Ports Authority should have completed a study on the condition of the runway by January 2004 and is evaluating the possibility of converting an area at RHA for air-rescue training. "The rescue-training program is important because it would become a business for us in the region and would eliminate our need to send staff to train on the West Coast of the U.S.," Soto said. "Ports has changed its philosophy. Before, we would sit and wait for business. Now we’re identifying the needs of our concessionaires and opportunities at the airport and going after prospects." Another long-term money-generating project for the Ports Authority is RHA’s development as a distribution center for the U.S. Postal Service in the Caribbean and South America. "We have submitted a letter of intent so the U.S. Postal Service can consider establishing a regional office at RHA," Soto said. "They are currently analyzing their options since we’re competing against other destinations. We should know if we’re finalists by August." The Ports Authority refused to give details about the financial significance of the project for competitive reasons. There are precious few airports in the Americas with RHA’s capability to serve airfreight carriers that fly fully loaded wide-body aircraft to major cities around the globe. RHA’s 11,700-foot concrete runway would enable the largest cargo carriers in the world to fly nonstop over long-haul routes. Development alternatives An aviation-led economic zone RHA has a number of competitive advantages over many airports in the Caribbean and Latin America, namely an 11,470-foot runway capable of handling the largest aircraft; 1,200 acres, of which 500 are suitable for multiple uses (including light manufacturing); a location near some of the most beautiful beaches in Puerto Rico (38% of the coastline in the western region is suitable for swimming); and an 18-hole golf course that could help promote tourist activities in the vicinity. The airport is ideal as an air-cargo hub and logistics center because of its proximity to already established industrial and light-manufacturing centers representing many airfreight clients. Developing RHA’s air-cargo-handling capacity would also help to relieve the congestion at LMM airport. But the real opportunity for RHA as an air-cargo hub would be in the development of a transshipment operation, one not dependant on the domestic market. Like maritime cargo, transcontinental air cargo, particularly cargo flowing up and down the Western Hemisphere, needs suitable places for transshipment—i.e., when cargo is taken from a wide-body aircraft such as a Boeing 747 and divvied up onto smaller planes headed to specific markets and vice versa. That kind of operation is bread-and-butter business at an airport such as the one in Miami that is so congested that it has difficulty handling cargo requiring just-in-time delivery. Among the factors that will determine RHA’s success as an air-cargo hub and logistics center are the requirements of its largest tenants or airfreight carriers, route development, on-site package sorting, customs clearance time, land access to airport, requirements for warehousing and ramp space, surface for cargo handling, rental rates, Foreign Trade Zone status, distance to connecting transportation, and special services / facilities. The Ports Authority would also have to upgrade the airport’s infrastructure for supplying fuel. Sources say that in order for the airport to be cost-effective for most potential tenants, the old underground fuel pipes would have to be refitted so that the airport could once again be supplied from an offshore oil tanker. Right now, fuel is transported to RHA by tanker truck from San Juan. A station for wide-body aircraft repair, maintenance, and certification The attractiveness and competitive advantage of RHA as an air-cargo hub and logistics center would be greatly enhanced by the presence of a station for the repair, maintenance, and certification of wide-body aircraft. At present, Puerto Rico’s aviation system lacks such a station, making it more expensive for the airlines that serve the island. This type of facility could take advantage of the various academic institutions in the region, such as the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, to establish a training center for engineers in the electrical, mechanical, and aerospace fields. The long-term effect would be the creation of highly skilled labor that would be able to feed the airport’s demand for talented employees. A passenger airport An estimated 600,000 people in the island’s western region, from Isabela in the north to Guanica in the south, would arguably prefer to fly out of RHA, and have done so. In the past, there were up to four flights per day (with a 70% to 80% load factor) departing from Aguadilla. Asking how to obtain more air service from airlines based on projections of increased tourism activity is a bit like asking the age-old question "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" It’s difficult to attract more tourism without convenient air service right into the area, but carriers are reticent to dedicate aircraft to a market that hasn’t proved its ability to provide a critical volume of passenger traffic. That has been part of the problem at RHA for years. However, real-estate developments currently underway and those planned for the next three years are expected to intensify the need for passenger service to the region. These developments are targeting the local population with medium to high incomes. Also, the region’s 1,600 existing hotel rooms, excluding villas and apartments, and the 2,000 rooms projected in the next three years will create demand for expanded air service into Aguadilla. "The new hotels that came online in Rincon are doing well, I imagine because we’ve been able to create a market and absorb the new inventory," said Rick Newman, president of Flagship Services, which manages the Rincon Beach Resort in Añasco. "As we build more rooms it shows that the island and the region can sustain more growth. Obviously, getting the airlines into Aguadilla would help that process move much more quickly." "What the airport basically needs is a reasonable, competitive amount of service and fares," Murphy said. "Another factor is leakage, which is how many people are going to that area right now through other airports." Murphy said the previous administration had concentrated on examining the levels of service and prices being offered by the carriers that used to serve RHA, and how they performed. "In a number of instances, the problem wasn’t with the market but with the carriers themselves," he said. "Kiwi Airlines and Pan Am Airlines, which both had service out of RHA, were being operated with pretty high load factors. Elsewhere in the carriers’ systems, however, they had problems and so they failed. It wasn’t that particular market that caused the failure." Continental Airlines offers four daily flights out of Aguadilla to Newark. North American Airlines flies out of RHA to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport every Monday and Friday. Pan Am Airlines offers four weekly flights to Sanford, Fla., and daily nonstop service to Orlando. While these flights carry mostly traffic originating in Puerto Rico, it is heartening to note that five years ago, RHA didn’t offer as many flights and didn’t have as many hotels nearby. It shows there is potential for expanding tourism in the area. Pan Am’s five-year strategy for RHA calls for the airline to provide service to six U.S. mainland destinations (Stanford and Hartford, Conn.; Des Moines, Iowa; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Philadelphia, and Baltimore), three Canadian (Toronto; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Hamilton, Ontario), and 12 Latin American and Caribbean (La Romana, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; San Jose, Costa Rica; Cancun, Mexico; Caracas, Venezuela; Santiago, Chile, and St. Croix, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands). The number of passengers who moved through RHA fell from 109,397 in fiscal year (FY) 2001 to 56,257 in FY 2002, when 9/11 caused a major drop-off in travel and airlines to cut back on flights. Inbound traffic in FY 2002 was 26,242 and outbound was 30,015. According to the Estudios Tecnicos study, the Ports Authority could devise an aviation strategy so that RHA complements LMM airport, designating specific routes to be served in the passenger segment. RHA should be designed and operated as a secondary airport to LMM airport. RHA could also be positioned as an alternative for low-cost operators looking for inexpensive service, since the average fees at RHA are much lower than at LMM airport. The Tourism Co. has made several attempts to meet with airlines to stimulate activity into RHA through its Porta del Sol branding campaign for the western region. This year, the agency met with GWV International, a charter company from New England, to secure weekly flights from Boston to Aguadilla. GWV serves 18 destinations in the Caribbean, including Mexico. The deal didn’t pan out, however, primarily because of expensive hotel / airfare packaging. "We can’t compete with some other destinations such as the Dominican Republic [D.R.] that can offer all-inclusive packages for $65 [a day]," said Ramon Sanchez, former deputy executive director of marketing & promotions at the Tourism Co. "We talked to the major airlines flying to San Juan about Porta del Sol and they have demonstrated interest. They might be sitting back and waiting to see how it develops." Some sources in the tourism industry, however, say Puerto Rico’s excuse that the D.R. is cheaper is old and tired. By that rationale, they say, there wouldn’t be a thriving airport at La Romana’s Casa de Campo, an exclusive and upscale resort area in the D.R. just a 90-minute drive from the cheaper all-inclusive destination of Punta Cana. "If the proximity of $65-a-day all-inclusive packages in Punta Cana had anything to do with it, Casa de Campo [in La Romana] would be a flop. That’s nonsense," a source said. They also note the success of upscale properties in western Puerto Rico, such as the Horned Dorset Primavera in Rincon. Perhaps if western Puerto Rico could provide a product that is excellent and less expensive than that offered in San Juan, but not necessarily as cheap as that of the Dominican Republic, stateside tourists would be flocking to the west. To accommodate these passengers, the U.S. Customs and Immigration area at RHA must be expanded. "The Customs area needs to be larger to handle bigger planes and for some airlines to be able to continue on to international destinations and return through Aguadilla," said Sanchez, who estimated the existing office can’t handle more than 30 people. The Ports Authority should also build a holding area for passengers whose final destination isn’t Aguadilla can disembark and not have to go through customs and immigration. A business / industrial park In the past 13 years, no fewer than 451 former military installations have been transferred to civilian use, saving Uncle Sam some $17 billion. Several former military installations have successfully been transferred to civilian use. In the States, the most common model for the transition involves creating a local redevelopment agency, a consortium mostly led by the private sector that takes over the planning and execution of a comprehensive redevelopment plan. Two possible models for RHA are Alliance Airport’s industrial and business parks and the North Carolina Global Transpark. The Ports Authority could follow business practices that have successfully been executed by third-party developers or could directly hire developers for some of the 400 to 500 acres currently available. There are also examples of successful base conversions in foreign countries, such as the former U.S. military bases of Subic Bay and Clark Field, both in the Philippines. The Philippines government has set up a public agency to develop these sites and has attracted more than $2.3 billion from tenants such as FedEx, AT&T, Volvo Penta, Acer, Hitachi, and Enron. Key project-development sites include a central business district; an industrial park that targets nonpolluting light to medium industries; and a technology park that targets nonpolluting, high-tech, high-value-added industries. Deploying cruise ships to Mayaguez isn’t feasible, at least for now Even if Rafael Hernandez Airport (RHA) in Aguadilla were upgraded, the prospect of cruise ships deploying to Mayaguez is remote, at least for now, said Giora Israel, vice president of planning for Carnival Corp. "It’s not a question of having an airport," said Israel. "Many countries in the Caribbean have airports. It’s a matter of having scheduled air service." Local industry leaders suggest that one way to address the lack of air service at RHA is to attract charter operators, as the Dominican Republic (also a homeport for cruise ships) has done. "We work with charters out of the Dominican Republic for our European clientele," said Israel. "In the Dominican Republic, as in Jamaica and Guadeloupe, European passengers no longer travel with passports or U.S. visas because of agreements with the European Union, but either of those two documents is required to travel into U.S. territory." In 2002, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) said that in addition to inadequate air service, the Mayaguez area lacks a tourist identity. When a delegation from Puerto Rico met with the FCCA in Miami, Michael Ronan, associate vice president of destination development for Royal Caribbean International, said, "The Port of Mayaguez is more of an industrial area than a tourism facility. Where in Mayaguez do you take passengers for a tourism experience? Right now, there is no demand to visit Mayaguez." FCCA President Michelle Paige, however, said the possibility of deploying cruise ships to Mayaguez does exist. "It will all depend on how much priority the local government gives to developing Mayaguez," she said. The Puerto Rico Tourism Co. is developing tourism in the region. Last year, it unveiled a new brand image for the island’s west coast (from Isabela to Guanica) called Porta del Sol. The word "porta" was chosen because it recalls the Porta Coeli Museum in San German, Puerto Rico’s oldest church, and evokes the area’s rich history. The word "sol," Spanish for sun, represents the west coast’s breathtaking sunsets. "We’re trying to be as creative as possible," said Jose Suarez, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co. "We want to create a fresh brand to draw new air service to Aguadilla, cruise ships, and more attractions for the region." The branding initiative for the west is the Tourism Co.’s answer to the double-destination tourism strategy between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic advocated by House Speaker Carlos Vizcarrondo and Mayaguez Mayor Jose Guillermo Rodriguez. "We can offer Porta del Sol to U.S. tourists in winter [high] tourism season for less than it would cost them to stay in San Juan because the west coast’s low season falls during San Juan’s high season," said Ramon Sanchez, former deputy executive director of marketing & promotions at the Tourism Co. Another major issue is whether the Port of Mayaguez can at least handle in-transit cruise ships [those already deployed] given that the ships being built are larger every year. "All we hear about is Mayaguez," said Israel. "Our company [Carnival Cruise Lines] hasn’t been presented with any navigational charts to show if the channel is wide enough, if we can turn a ship around, and if the existing pier can accommodate it." The Puerto Rico Ports Authority, under former Executive Director Miguel Pereira, told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS that the government had no intention of investing millions in dredging the Port of Mayaguez so it could handle cruise ships. Mayor Rodriguez has accused the Ports Authority of letting the Mayaguez port waste away. In a full-page color ad in a local newspaper, the municipality said, "In the hands of the Ports Authority, the facilities and land at the Mayaguez port have become an intolerable place of deterioration, carelessness, disinterest, and oblivion, where sadly only one boat is docked and anchored." For the Port of Mayaguez to accommodate a cruise ship, the channel must be at least 60 meters wide, the turning basin should be at least 1,500 feet long, the pier must be able to handle a vessel 1,000 feet in length, and the minimum depth must be 32 feet. According to Luis Soto, engineering director at the Ports Authority, Mayaguez has a turning basin 1,200 feet long and a depth of 28 feet. The Millennium Express is using it to travel three times a week between Mayaguez and Santo Domingo. "We are looking forward to increasing the number of cruise ships visiting the western region," said Vizcarrondo. The western part of Puerto Rico contains more than 12 ecosystems, including forests, coral reefs, lakes, cave systems, and mangroves. According to Rodriguez, these could be exploited for tourism while ensuring their preservation. Current Land Use at Rafael Hernandez Airport Lot: Use / Square footage / Condition 1: Agricultural (cattle-raising) / 12.7 million / N/A 2: Live-fire practices / 150,000 / Still used for practicing air rescues and fire fighting. 3: Agricultural (cattle-raising) / 4.5 million / N/A 4: Former fuel farm / 6.5 million / No longer used as such. Only two tanks (100,000 gallons each) still stand above ground. Underground tanks were removed by the U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers. 5: Available for rent / 300,000 / Land in good condition. No buildings or other structures there. 6: Contract with research center / 323,000 / Vacant lot available for rent. 7: Aviation-related projects / 1 million / Available for rent. All buildings on lot vacant but require refurbishment. 8: Available for multiuse projects / 270,000 / Aqueduct & Sewer Authority occupies building without Ports Authority contract. 9: Tennis courts / 54,000 / Currently leased by Punta Borinquen Tennis Association. 10: Industrial-recreational projects / 1 million / Available area is densely forested. 11: Aviation-related projects / 180,000 / Available for rent. Small lot with no buildings. 12: Aviation-related projects and ground cargo / 2.2 million / U.S. Postal Service expressed interest in building a 50,000-square-foot facility on the lot. 13: Transportation purposes / 254,000 / Available for rent. 14: Designated for fueling / 500,000 / Copeca (fueling company) occupies part of the lot. The other fueling operation is Western Aviation Services. 15: Aeronautical use / 7.2 million / Former taxiway. Now closed to aviation. Source: Puerto Rico Ports Authority Construction Projects at Rafael Hernandez Airport Project: Start date / Completion date / Investment ($) Improvement to runway: November 2002 / December 2003 / 2,400,000 Removal of asbestos in building: November 2002 / April 2003 / 150,000 Improvement to hangar 403’s tiles: December 2002 / May 2003 / 500,000 Removal of obstructions: September 2002 / September 2003 / 250,000 Installation of emergency power plant in terminal: January 2003 / March 2003 / 150,000 Installation of air conditioning in terminal: July 2003 / December 2003 / 300,000 Expansion of domestic and federal inspection area: November 2002 / December 2003 / 4,000,000 Construction of building 1205’s roof: July 2003 / December 2003 / 75,000 Improvement to air-rescue training facilities: July 2003 / March 2004 / 1,100,000 Demolition of hangar 578: July 2003 / June 2004 / 150,000 Installation of new beacon: September 2002 / October 2002 / 180,000 Improvement to pavement of parking lot: December 2002 / February 2003 / 40,000 Improvement to air-rescue building: December 2002 / January 2004 / 380,000 Improvement to security office: December 2002 / August 2003 / 60,000 Relocation of western taxiway: February 2001 / May 2002 / 6,100,000 Removal of debris at runway 8/26: February 2002 / February 2002 / 75,000 Construction of sheds at terminal A: March 2002 / May 2002 / 26,000 TOTAL Investment: $15,936,000 Source: Puerto Rico Ports Authority This Caribbean Business article appears courtesy of Casiano Communications.
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