Airlines Put $785M Price on Alternative Airport Plan, Detail Case Against SkyCity

The airlines opposing SkyCity’s proposed $1.2 billion redevelopment of the Virgin Islands’ two commercial airports put a fuller price tag on their alternative Thursday, saying the phased plan they have previously described as roughly $390 million in capital improvements would have an estimated all-in value of approximately $785 million.

The clarification came in detailed responses provided to the Source Thursday afternoon by the U.S. Virgin Islands Airlines Airport Affairs Committee, or AAAC, which has urged the V.I. Port Authority to move away from the current SkyCity proposal and pursue a smaller, phased redevelopment of Cyril E. King and Henry E. Rohlsen airports instead. The airlines have also offered to support payment of SkyCity’s $40 million termination fee, subject to mutually acceptable financing terms and conditions.

But the responses also make an important distinction in a debate that has largely centered on two dramatically different price tags: the airlines are not proposing the same project for less money.

Asked directly whether its alternative includes the same scope of work as SkyCity’s proposal, AAAC said no. It described SkyCity’s proposal as a broader, long-term redevelopment program, while the airlines’ alternative would prioritize work needed to stabilize and modernize the airports now, leaving some future expansion and other improvements to be built as demand and operational needs warrant.