Cabinet has approved the start of a selective tendering process to develop new long-term master plans for Antigua and Barbuda’s two international airports, Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant said during Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing.

Merchant said Cabinet considered a submission from the Minister for Tourism and granted approval for the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority to engage qualified consultants to design comprehensive master plans for the VC Bird International Airport and the Barbuda International Airport.

“The current master plan for the VC Bird International Airport, which was instituted in 2000, has not been reviewed in the intervening years,” Merchant said, despite “significant growth in passenger traffic, air cargo movements and major infrastructure developments.”

He said those developments include “the construction of a new terminal and the commissioning of the Barbuda International Airport,” making an updated planning framework necessary.

Merchant said Cabinet agreed that a new master plan is essential to guide future growth.

“Cabinet recognized that the preparation of this new master plan is essential to guide the orderly expansion, modernization, and sustainable development of both airports over the next 30 years,” he said.

He added that the Barbuda International Airport Authority has been granted permission “to open a tendering process” for the preparation of the new master plan, which will govern development at both airports over the next three decades.