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Jamaica's Kingston airport aims to be cargo transport hub
POSTED: 8:46 a.m. EDT, June 26,2007
The Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) will be seeking private investors to transform Kingston's airport into a major air cargo transshipment hub for Central and South America, reports the daily Jamaica Gleaner.
Even though Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) airport handles more cargo than passengers - opposite that of Sangster International in Montego Bay - the transshipment of goods has never been regarded as an important component of its business mix.
"We are really just handling a small percentage of air cargo that we believe we should be handling at Norman Manley," said AAJ president Earl Richards adding that US$250 million has already been invested to expand cargo capacity at the Kingston airport.
Mr Richards said his aim is to market Jamaica as a viable alternative to Miami for cargo coming to and from the hemisphere to and from Europe.
"It has become extremely difficult and cumbersome to move such cargo through Miami, which is really the principal hub for moving such cargo and we have a more friendly environment," he said.
Cargo movement through the Kingston airport last year reached 15 million tonnes, compared to four million tonnes that passed through the Montego Bay facility. Passenger through Kingston peaked at 1.7 million last year, compared with 3.4 million at Montego Bay year on year.
Internationally, air cargo transshipment has increased two fold, every 10 years since 1970, and forecasts by the International Air Transportation Association predict the business will triple current levels in the next 20 years. |
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