‘Aecon Remains Committed To Airport Project’
Aecon “remains committed to the airport project,” they said today, adding that they “have confidence that the democratic process will prevail and that the Bill will be approved.”
Following the protest and the Speaker’s announcement that the House of Assembly will be adjourned until February, we asked the company for comment, and President of Aecon Concessions Steve Nackan said, “Aecon remains committed to the airport project.
“We have confidence that the democratic process will prevail and that the Bill will be approved, because in the end everyone benefits from the project proceeding – particularly noting that a majority of construction workers on the project will be Bermudian.
“Additionally, it is fundamentally Bermudians who will continue to operate their new terminal. An alternate process would not necessarily ensure these outcomes,” added Mr Nackan.
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It’s in Aecon’s best interest to remain mute.
I was thinking the same thing.
The last 3 words to their name speaks volume.
LMFAO
I think you meant the last 3 letters in thier name. I never noticed. ‘Con’ lol.
Someone commented they may pull out of the deal. I seriously doubt that. They stand to profit so why would they pull out.
Hicup, too much swizzle
They are on the winning side of this deal
Aecon there is not one person interested in what you have to say.. You and your coharts are not trusted..
If i owned Aecon I would pull out of the deal after what went on last week. Why would I invest my money to put up with that. Better watch out if they do cause then we might miss an opportunity and then can’t even afford to fix the issues with our old airport.
If I owned AECON I’d hedge my bets they have a lot to gain and nothing to lose.
So go convince them to do just that!
Remember that if they do not pull out of the deal and government instead refuses to proceed CCC/Aecon stand to walk away with an estimated 18 million dollars by way of termination clause.
That is how bad this deal really is.
However, we must now swallow that as opposed to them walking away with hundreds of millions of dollars over the next thirty years.
We can punish those are responsible for this at the next election
They don’t stand to walk away with hundreds of million of dollars over the next 30 years, they stand to make back what they spend plus interest… just like a bank would if they had loaned us the money.
I would think the hundreds of out of work construction workers might be interested, the travellers who will no longer have to doard and disembark planes in thunderstorms and torrential rains might be interested. The airport workers who have to work in deteriorating conditions of a dying facility and its terminal infrastructure, might be interested. Any Bermudian who actually has an open mind might want to hear from them.
It seems the only people not interested are the self interested nationalists who’s ideology precludes any notion that foreigners could help us or ever have in the past. Trumps of Bermuda unite under the PLP banner, after all that is what they are now, Bermuda’s Republican Party. How could they be wrong, after all Bermuda thrived under their last Bermuda First administrative policies. Vote PLP, make Bermuda great again, just like it was 5 years ago.
Bob got played by a group of city slickers.
I have far more faith in Bob being able to handle these sorts of negotiations, than I ever will in the PLP. After they let the American government get off the hook for over $50m in clean up with a $11m bill, left taxpayers to foot the bill for the Berkley mismanagement when it was the BIU’s bill, made sure we will never know the details of the Hospital agreement, tried to give away the Hamilton waterfront to a developer who has misplaced $18m. When their leader cannot publically acknowledge the difference between revenues and profits in contractual valuations.
It’s taken Bob and his team more than a year to negotiate this agreement, an agreement that has received local and international professional recognition for its creative solution to the very real and difficult problem we face, and you think he got played… then at what level do you think PLP could even stand a chance, because in his 4 years as Finance minister, he has shown more skill and professionalism than any member of the PLP have been able to demonstrate in the entirety of their 14 year administration.
@ Mixitup, are you sipping Onion Juice again.
Haha here it comes….Aecon will pull out of Bermuda and the Bermuda Government will have to foot a pretty massive penalty. Im telling you. That. Is. Coming. Thanks PLP/BIU/PC/BTUC.
But since the PLP will win the next election….let them deal with the law suit.
PLP are a bunch of hipocrits. (From a black Bermudian) btw
Big Dk: If history is an indicator we have been selling out our people since the beginning of time. You are no exception, so carry on.
The UBP (now known as the OBA) are no different from the Republican Party and the other White Nationalist Parties rising up in Europe, which represent corporations, the 1%, those of European descent and the repression and oppression of people of African descent and the poor.
well… they are committed to having confidence basically… however… I myself see and or understand absolutley ‘NO’ good reason a renter or lessee be given our tax dollars for their electricity get green or get gone!
And they will penalise us if we don’t?
You want licks ennit?!?
It’s amazing how everyone is an expert on finance and building airports where would the money come from for a second option and who would you get to build an airport if it was tendered on Bermuda ?
Priorities are not right in Bermuda we seeem to be happy with all the road fatalities and gang violence etc don’t see anyone protesting about these issues
John: If you really think people should be protesting against road fatalities and violence. They the selling of alcohol should be illegal because it plays a role in the majority of the road fatalities. But no, can’t do that because of the love of money. Those who sell alcohol are just as responsible in other words they have blood on their hands.
Regarding the violence that is taking place, the individuals who are committing the violence are not the ones importing the guns in the Island. Also there is a direct correlation between systematic racism and oppression of those of African descent, hence they are the ones committing the violence. But no ones takes time out to see the men behind the curtain which are those who manufacture the guns, which are made to kill/murder. They have blood dripping from their hands.
Also the European male has demonized, castrated, stigmatized and stereotyped our males and called them every and any negative name under the sun they can come up with for example gang members and thugs. I heard this quote that states: Satan calls us by our sin and not by our name. God calls us by our name and not by our sin.
We should never allow those of European descent to label us. In other words our enemies to label us. Some of us are like sheep that go along with whatever they say. As if these people stand for truth, righteousness and justice. History tells us otherwise.
Romans 18.21 Life and death is in the power of the tongue.
James 3:5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
‘We should never allow those of European descent to label us. In other words our enemies to label us. Some of us are like sheep that go along with whatever they say. As if these people stand for truth, righteousness and justice. History tells us otherwise.’
And then you quote the Bible, a book written for European purpose of control and was the biggest tool ever used to dehumanize and enslave Africans for centuries. A truly white supremacist tool is the Bible and it still is today.
Keep quoting the white man’s religion, while you write on the white man’s keyboard and broadcast your confused narrative over the white man’s internet.
It’s ok with you though if those of African descent label and demonize everyone else.
No one can say a word about you, but you’re free to say any sht you like about anyone else.
Among the many falsities of the PLP narrative is that we are giving millions to a foreign company. It isn’t false in that we will be giving millions to a foriegn company, because we will, it is false in its representation that that wouldn’t happen anyway. We aren’t just giving them millions, we are paying them back the money they spend to build it in the first place, plus interest.
Firstly we would be doing this anyway, so whether we pay it to them or to a bank, we have to pay for the airport to be built and that payment will be coming with interest.
Second, AECON may be a foriegn company, but there wouldn’t be a local company that could do this without a foriegn company to back them no matter what, so no matter who we pay to build this, that money will be going to a foriegn company. It doesn’t matter if we build it ourselves, because we would still need to get a loan to pay for it, and a loan that big would be from a foriegn lender, even it is facilitated by a local financial institution.
So for those in the PLP that like to say the OBA is selling Bermuda to foreigners, take a close look at who the PLP was selling us to with their out of control spending and borrowing just to run the government.
Fortunately majority of Bermudians are not as naive as Bob the Snob! Aecon, you may be able to bullying your way with the officials, but you can’t get away with this even with people that have half a brain. Take your pushy a$$e$ back to Canada and never come back!
It doesn’t take half a brain to calculate that they won’t be walking away with the hundreds of millions or billion plus revenues that Burt mathematics calculates, it just takes an understanding of financial basics of revenue, expenditures, profits and interest. They may make millions off this, but only after they spend a couple hundred million to local contractors to build it.
” They may make millions off this, but only after they spend a couple hundred million to local contractors to build it.”
Of the total four year construction costs ($375m) only $69m will come from common equity. Of that $69m, Aecon is only required to provide $24.15m (35%). So, NO, they will not be spending a couple hundred million.
FYI. Here are the revenue sources for construction (millions):
Common Equity 69
Debt 192
Cash Flow From Operations 101
Bermuda Subordinated Debt 12
A few things to note. $101 million of the construction costs will come from profits made from the current airport. The debt is risk free for Aecon since the agreement requires Bermuda to contribute the “minimum revenue guarantee” any year that the airport does not achieve enough net revenue to maintain that debt at a high rating.
They are building this with their money first, so whether it is coming from them or from CCC, the money to build this will first follow in, with the exception of the materials and specialized labour that will be required to build this. Electricians, telecoms, drywallers, painters, crane operators… and the many other non specialized workers that will work on this will be subcontracted locally will be paid from the money first coming in, and then once built, on time and whether or not on budget, then they will get paid back for the contracted amount, depending on whether it was government interference that caused any overruns or delays. Whatever we are paying them from whatever sources, is solely for the contracted amount that we are required to pay them, but they are paying for the construction. So yes, while we may be paying money out to them, they must first pay money in to build this.
They will contribute only about $24 million of their own money. About another $45 million will come from equity investors. $100 million will come from airport revenue. $12 million is from the airport improvement fee that has been on tickets for the past few years. The rest will come from loans. Loans that carry ZERO risk to Aecon.
For the rest of you non-thinkers, go do some research! Its obvious you don’t have a clue what you’re agreeing to! This is a national issue so dont embarrass yourself by showing your ignorance. It will be far cheaper to walk away from this deal now than be on the hook for 30 years. Eventually paying a whopping $1.4bn. Only a stupid person would’ve agreed to this great deal for Aecon.
Yes, Bob Richards’ face is now next to “stupid’ in the dictionary…
LMFAO
Not sure how you can produce a $1.4b claim and say others don’t have a clue. It would not be cheaper, because we still need to build a $250m+ airport an it will only be more expensive to spend in excess of $100m+ to bandaid the existing when it will still need to be replaced.
By that the way, that $100m isn’t an imaginary number, because we would literally have to strip out section by section, right down to the bare structure, the entire airport in multiple phases (as we still need it as an airport) to deal with the multitude of issues it faces. And in the end, it would be an expensive effort in vain as it is the most base infrastructure of it that is at the root of the majority of its issues. In fact, it will probably cost us the price of the new airport, just to extend the current facility another 10 or 15 years, at which point it would probably cost us in excess of $300m to build new then. So to follow the PLP’s plan would ultimately cost us in excess of $500m, before interest, over the next 40 years, and someone will still have to pay for it all.
You pulled the $1.4bn number right out of your a _ s didn’t you.
It would be nice if the debate could stick to something at least close to the facts.
Hey Build a better Bermuda, anyone would think that Bermuda has a monsoon season of heavy rains and thunder storms 6 months out of the year. Don’t use that as an excuse buddy, the question remains, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TENDERING PROCESS? Its not about building a new airport of which I personally don’t agree with, its about the ongoing crap that the OBA professes to do with their catch phase “TRANPARENCY”. I voted OBA and quite frankly, yes the PLP caused a lot of problems and they were chastised for their action or lack thereof, ran us into debt etc etc. The OBA have been shrouded in continual turmoil with every action they take whether its Jet Gate, Immigration reform , travel with cronies at our expense, the promise of 2000 jobs, and now this airport deal in which someone stands to make a pretty penny by jamming this through quickly. Lets pull up the hand brake a few clicks and lets have open and honest dialog, allow a non biased 3rd party in to review this deal and let that group decide whether we are getting value for our dollar. I will close by saying that if government had been prudent over the last 15 years or so and allocated a proper maintenance fund to continually make upgrades and improvements into the infrastructure then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It just like our schools falling apart after years of neglect because for years all we did for the most part is lick on a coat of paint and make it look pretty.
It’s not about how much rain we get in a year, it’s about that we do, and far more of it than any of our other competing jurisdictions, both in tourism and business. And in the day and age, it is inexcusable to to say we are world class destination, then have some elderly retiree vacationer, parent carrying their young toddler or infant, millionaire business person coming to explore investment opportunity, get off, navigate down a rain slicked metal stairs and have to dash to the airport terminal across a flooded tarmac. That isn’t world class, that third world. Then they get there and they are greeted by exposed ceiling slabs with cement popped off from rusting rebar, paint peeling off walls, and flooding in the terminal at best, sewage back up (which has happened on repeated occasions) in a worse case. That isn’t world class, that’s 3rd world.
And while it would be nice to say “if government had been prudent over the last 15 years or so and allocated a proper maintenance fund to continually make upgrades and improvements into the infrastructure then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. It just like our schools falling apart after years of neglect because for years all we did for the most part is lick on a coat of paint and make it look pretty.” We are where we are and we have to have this conversation, and the conversation in honesty is that we no longer have the resources to deal with the huge amount of infrastructure issues we face, many of which relate to their antiquity. So we have to be creative and this deal represents a creative solution. In construction, particularly government construction, tendering has zero garantee of value for money or transparency. What garantees this is the construction contract, and both that and the PPP agreement have been reviewed by no fewer that 5 parties, including government, AECON, Deloitte, the independent assessor that viewed the final agreement and the British government. This has been the most open and transparent agreement in private or public business history. But as you’ve said, you don’t believe we need a new airport so…
There has been more disclosed publicly about this contract than any other in Bermuda’s history. Have you read the documents that were released last week?
NEWSFLASH!!!! The OBA has racked up $1.6bn in FOUR YEARS!!! What the hell would they do in FOURTEEN!!! I don’t want to find out!! Such a weak government!!
No they have not.
In 6 years the PLP went from $150m to $1.7bn, an increase of over 1,000%. In 4 years the current government has increased by about 40% to about $2.4bn. Not perfect, but a lot better than the last lot.
Typical PLP surrogate….putting out misinformation.
Talk about fake news. Pfft.
It isn’t $1.6b and all of that is in relation to the spiral that the PLP put us in. The only way for the OBA to have stopped that hemorrhage completely would have been to fire half the CS, cancel social programs… I’m guessing you also missed the fact that the PLP last year promised to return us to their previous level of spending if back in.
Yo peace don’t worry bout all that we are truly fu##ed .The Canadians should just pack up their s#it and jet outta here.The debt that you mention just how much of that goes to pay the plps note that we are on the hook for another hundred years!So yes Bermuda we are truly fu##ed.
“particularly noting that a majority of construction workers on the project will be Bermudian.”
Please show me one privately owned construction site in Bermuda where the majority of the workers are Bermudian…AECON are attempting to make history on two accounts…
Hospital was