Inos: There’s ‘enough room for discussion’

Gov. Eloy S. Inos said yesterday that there’s enough room for discussion between the Commonwealth Ports Authority and Duty Free Shoppers on the existing Saipan airport master concession agreement. Only after the parties sit down together that a next course of action could be taken, including whether to extend or amend the concession deal, or put out a request for proposals, he said.

“I encourage them to meet and discuss whatever can be improved. …And what is it exactly that CPA wants to see in the next term [of the agreement]? Even before the agreement expires, if there’s an impasse, maybe an RFP can be issued,” Inos told Saipan Tribune.

The airport master concession agreement between CPA and DFS expires in November 2015.

“There’s still a little over a year to go before the master concession expires. There’s still a lot of room to engage the folks at the airport, CPA. As I understand it, the master concession agreement provides some room for renegotiating, so parties can talk about moving forward. If they can’t come to terms, then that’s the time an RFP can be issued. I don’t believe issuing an RFP at this time is appropriate,” Inos said.

Barrie Toves, a returning CPA board member and chairman of an ad hoc committee that looks into the airport master concession agreement, said yesterday that the committee is working on a recommendation to the CPA board of directors.

The draft recommendation, he said, is for CPA to hire a financial consultant to assess certain aspects of the master concession. The next board meeting is toward the end of this month.

“We are still finalizing the report. We want to be as transparent as possible but at this time we can’t go into the details of the report because it’s not been formally presented to the board,” he said.

Toves, who once again heads the CPA board’s Airport Facilities Committee, said their recommended assessment by an independent consultant will take into account the major impacts that will be brought by a newly signed $3.14 billion exclusive Saipan casino development agreement.

“The current master concession agreement does not address future developments such as something as big as the casino development. We need to have a study on the impact of this, as we would see an increased influx of tourists,” Toves, representing Rota on the CPA board, said in a phone interview.

After that independent assessment is done, he said CPA can decide the next course.

“And it’s important that we start the process moving, what direction we’re going to take,” he said.

Toves said CPA is looking at new models for the master concession agreement, including the ones implemented in the region.

“In the end we want to see something that best benefits the CNMI as a whole,” he said, adding that it could be a master concession or a sub-concession.

He said all options are on the table until an assessment is made, and like what the governor stated, these options include improving on the existing agreement or issuing an RFP.

Toves corrected a previous statement that CPA is open to unsolicited proposals. He said he was only referring to ideas—not proposals—on the airport master concession agreement.

Toves is also a member of three of CPA board’s committees: Financial Affairs, Seaport Facilities, and Personnel Committees.