90 Minute Video: PLP Town Hall On Airport Deal
The Progressive Labour Party hosted a town hall meeting regarding the airport redevelopment project this evening [Feb 7], with Opposition Leader & Shadow Minister of Finance David Burt and Shadow Minister for Transport Lawrence Scott addressing the attendees.
The airport deal was first announced back in November 2014, and since then has been the subject of extensive discussions, and after having been previously delayed, the debate on the Airport Development Concession Act 2016 and the Bermuda Airport Authority Act 2016 is scheduled to take place at the House of Assembly this Friday [Feb 10].
The 90-minute live video replay is below:
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Hey, look at that! Betty is sitting at the panels desk!
Hey, look everyone in the PLP will be Betty green when the oba is handed the pink slip December 2017.
You should find a different leader like you did in 2012 to help generate more votes from the PLP side of things.
You’re acting like this will be a good thing if it happens smh…
Train has already left the station!
This member of the shameful 20 did not mention the massive road fatalities or his anti equality stance or his unprogressive party , the missing millions ,instead it’s all about his personal quest for power and money via not building an airport talk about lack of priorites ,plain and simple not the kind of guy you would want to run any country
Deduct the MPs, media & the party management from the numbers & how many truly regular people are there? 50? Most of them at or past retirement age. How many of them are going to get to use the new terminal with its physically challenged friendly jetways?
Or pointing out the fact that a Canadian company is about to take Bermuda Taxpayers for a $300 million dollar ride! What gets me the most is they don’t even pay taxes! Like if you are going to make that much at least pay for your own electricity bill. And taxpayer still get stuck with $15 million of expenses per year? Should use that to build a causeway!
Can’t believe OBA supporters don’t realise that the Government should be getting a much better deal. It’s waay too rich, especially given the Guarantee. Their risk is low (minimum revenue guarantee), their debt is supported, and they get a 16% return after debt charges with minimal risk and no taxes for 30 years.
I would take the risk and put it out to tender and see if someone comes in at 11 or 12%.
Seems we’re so caught up on PLP v OBA we aren’t seeing that we could save a couple hundred million.
The airport is at half the cost of the airport the PLP had put on paper, that is a massive difference in itself.
The PLP alternative involves borrowing the money, which means paying interest overseas forever.
The dishonesty of their approach is astounding.
I don’t know where David Burt gets the $300m for Aecon from. The 15.9% is not an annual rate of return; it is the IRR. The IRR is a percentage earned OVER THE PERIOD IT IS INVESTED. You can’t just do (15.9%*$69m)*30 yrs to determine how much profit they are earning. Jeez Louise. I so want us to have a viable Opposition but it is clear he does not understand finance (as the Shadow Finance minister). BY the way, I asked Minister RIchards at a town hall some time ago how long the period of IRR would be for them and he said modelled base case to be 10 yrs. So, after that, we are sharing the revenues 50/50.
Just to clarify, Aecon is not getting a guaranteed return (the above is based on base case). It is the lenders who are benefiting from the minimum revenue guarantee (otherwise, they would not lend). If fewer people use the airport than modelled, they are taking that risk and will make no return.
sorry, to clarify, if fewer people use the airport than modelled, Aecon is taking that risk and will make no return.
When you apples to apples this airport construction with other like builds among the Caribbean, it is actually on par cost wise, so there is no other guarantee that we could get a better deal. And we are not about to get taken for $300m, we are bout to have someone pay to build an airport for us, and then make their money back with interest… just like would be done with a lender if we borrowed.
What the PLP don’t tell us is that their plan involves government borrowing to first repair the existing airport. This has been conservatively estimated at $120m, but in truth, as with any government contract, that final cost might luckily come in at $150m. So we would have to borrow $150m plus interest, meaning we would end up paying around $170m to $180m, and that might get another 10 years out of the airport with little guarantee that it will solve any of the real fundementally structural issues that are at the heart of most of the other issues. So in 10 years time we will still have to build a new airport, that the PLP says we would then borrow to pay for that. With inflation, the cost of new airport then, will conservatively cost $300m, but given that government would again be running this, overruns would probably put the price much closer to $400m. Airports are not simple builds, they are more complex than a school or court building so… Having borrowed to cover this we would then have to pay back somewhere above $500m. So the PLP’s solution would end up costing us somewhere within the region of $700m over at least the next 30 years.
Or they could try a PPP model like they did with the Hospital, where the private partner would require some sort of operations lease hold for around the next 25 to 30 years…….
the plp are a waste of time
Such a waste of time hmmm tell your Milk leader to call the election so MY PEOPLE CAN VOTE AND TELL YOU WHO’s THE WASTE LOL
Your people can vote, yes. But you don’t leave it at that do you. When you lose a vote you block everything in sight by intimidation. You’re anti-democratic and un-Bermudian.
the only time you accept democracy is if you win. Just like Trump.
If the PLP were in power with the same deal and Ewart Brown at the helm, he would of just got it done, no questions asked.
And it would have cost 10% more
Well, based on experience, more like 100-400% more.
And you disliked him so much for that type of work… yet when the UBP/OBA does it they are conducting the people’s business lol … they could wreck bermuda and I swear you UBP/OBA supporters would come up with some excuse that it was for the good of bermuda.
Well you could have asked..but you would have been told “we’re in charge”, “you’re a racist for asking” blah blah blah.
You forgot the classic,”We don’t care what you think.”
The most interesting part of this video, which I watched all of, was Michael Scott, answering an audience member’s question regarding the legality of blocking access to the HOA. He gave them an answer they didn’t want to hear. It is illegal. Protest all you want but you can’t block MP’s from getting into the HOA. The Hall briefly went quiet.
Yawn
The Frederick Wade Airport ,,,,,,will not be changed,,,,,or repaired until the P.L.P. Government gets back into Power, as a government.The country will not move forward until the P.L.P.is once again in Power.As the Government as a Power,,,,,the first Political Power and the last Political Power in control.Next step Independence.Peace.
lol @ takbir…you really are crazy.
Independence….then you grow your own vegetables to survive smh
1 step forward, 2 steps back. Just like last time. You’re directionally challenged.
Seriously, that’s unhelpful and discouraging. Regardless of which political party you support, suggesting that the country won’t move forward in any way until the next election happens is unproductive. Bermuda needs to move forward in 2017, regardless of who has the majority of MPs in Parliament.
The same small rent a crowd. Everyone besides those there want the Airport to be built!
And the UBP are the gatekeepers of systematic racism.
Round 2 is about to begin
Burt only preaches to the people who are not financially minded and cannot comprehend the complexity of the deal.They are so brainwashed with the color of skin and the hate for the OBA.So sad
Warlord your comments reveal you are stereotyping people based on their color of their skin. This is called dog whistling. Also when individuals speak out and take a stand against injustice that does not mean they hate. Like successfully programmed zombies anytime individuals disagree with others they are as being labelled as hateful. It is called a disagreement.
Also there is a Babylonian/Pharaoh like system that was implemented by those of European descent that was intentionally designed to keep people of colour oppressed systematically, economically and through the criminal injustice system.
Historical facts has shown us over and over again and including the times in which we are living those who have shown themselves to be hateful since slavery and they had children.
To those of you who are saying those who support the PLP and the PLP members are like Trump and his supporters these are the same people who want to take America back to the Jim Crow era and who target people of colour. Trump’s cabinet has white supremacist who have played a significant role of oppressing minorities and the poor.
One thing we have learned as a people those of European descent are masters of deception and lies.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, if the estimated cost of building a new airport (which we all know we need … though I will miss the old arrivals hall) is $500 million amortized over 30 years at 4.5% (a good interest rate given our debt/asset ratio) we will pay in the order of $410 million in interest over 30 years. If CCC gets to keep $300 million and we pay for electricity for 30 years, I doubt all the fuss will amount to much in terms of dollars at the end of the day.
Now why can’t Bob Richards put matters in such stark terms?
AECON also maintain and run the airport for that money. So that part stays local.
The underlying economics are very similar to debt financing that the PLP are advocating… but lower risk and lower cost than the PLP plan.
Nelly Fulller Jr. – If you don’t understand racism/white supremacy everything else that you think you understand will only confuse you.
There’s 800 million at there somewhere, that,ll build it. Mr Burt focus some of your energy on that:)