Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks at the Farmer’s Cay and Staniel Cay Airport Contract Signings

Today is an important day for Exuma.

Today, we are signing contracts that will strengthen air travel and open clearer pathways between our people and opportunity.

For years, this connection has been needed. For years, it has been constrained. Today, we are changing that.

So many visitors come to the Exumas to experience Paradise. They come to see the clear waters and feel the calming winds, because its beauty is unmatched. 

As Exuma’s reputation has grown, its airports have not kept pace. Today’s signings change that.

These contracts will bring major airside works to both Farmer’s Cay and Staniel Cay airports, including the reconstruction and overlay of existing runways, site preparation, grading, base construction, and surfacing. 

At Farmer’s Cay, we are going even further with the construction of a brand new terminal building, complete with a ticket counter, baggage area, restrooms, office space, seating for twenty passengers, and covered verandahs front and back.

The airside upgrades are designed to meet ICAO standards and to safely accommodate the Cessna 208 Caravan at Farmer’s Cay and the Cessna 408 Titan at Staniel Cay, so that scheduled services from carriers like Flamingo Air, Titan Air, and Makers Air can operate on a stronger, safer, and more reliable foundation.

Across both contracts, this represents nearly 6.8 million dollars in investments, with the airside works carried out by Rowdy Boys Construction Company, and the Farmer’s Cay terminal delivered by A&E Construction, as you would have heard.

It was important to us that Bahamians carry out this work, because we believe in Bahamian excellence. 

We believe in the skill, capacity, and ability of our homegrown professionals to deliver at the highest global standard. 

As we invest in infrastructure and opportunity at home, we are also supporting local businesses and ensuring that national development is built by Bahamian hands.

This work is part of a much greater effort. Across our Family of Islands, we are rolling out over $600 million in roadworks, waterworks, docks, and clinics, alongside another $1 billion in energy infrastructure and reform investments. 

We are also committing another half a billion dollars to the Family Island Airport Renaissance Project, of which these two projects we are signing today are a part.

Our Family Island Renaissance represents the largest investment in Family Island airport infrastructure in our nation’s history. 

Across the country, airport development is advancing, with completed projects already serving communities from Ragged Island to Mayaguana. 

19 active or soon-to-be active construction projects are currently in the works, and the list is growing. Just last week, Rum Cay joined the list. Today, Farmer’s Cay and Staniel Cay take their place.

This is real progress, as we increase our capacity to welcome more visitors, make travel more accessible between islands, and strengthen connections from international destinations. 

From Grand Bahama to Long Island, from the Abacos to the Exumas, new terminals, runways, and facilities are being built to ensure that no island is left behind.

Thank you to Rowdy Boys Construction and to A&E Construction for your commitment to delivering quality work at a global standard. 

And to the people of Exuma, and every island across this nation where infrastructure, investment, and progress are underway: thank you for your patience and your belief in what we are building together.

This is all for you.

Thank you and God bless you.