After repeated assurances in 2024 and 2025 about green-lighting an airport redevelopment on the island of Grand Bahama, Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis confirmed the project during his address at the 27^th Grand Bahama Business Outlook gathering in mid-February.

From the early days of the project being floated, the U.K.’s privately-owned Manchester Airport Group (MAG) had been the main contender for a public-private partnership (PPP). However, discussions over funding appeared to have stalled last year, and a review was undertaken.

During his address, Davis confirmed plans were back on track. He told the audience: “The government has now signed a contract with Manchester Airports Group, and work began in January. Their CEO and transformation team are already engaged. A three-month mobilization plan is in train and safety improvements are being implemented.”

It is not certain if the deal is still a fully-fledged PPP contract. According to Momberger Airport Information, the airport revamp will be undertaken as an O&M (operation and maintenance) project. MAG did not formally issue a press release following the PM’s speech, perhaps because some fine-tuning of the deal may still be taking place.

In December last year, MAG confirmed the partnership. In its April-September 2025 interim report, it stated: “We were pleased to have been selected by the Government of The Bahamas to oversee the transformation and future growth of Grand Bahama International Airport (FPO).”

Modernization is Overdue

An upgraded FPO, located in Freeport, is essential for the economic development of Grand Bahama, the nearest of the country’s islands to Florida, and a cruise stop on Caribbean itineraries from the United States. Since 2021, after Hurricane Dorian almost totally destroyed the airport, it went back into state hands, operated by the Freeport Airport Development Company.

Now, for the first time, a major airport group will take charge. In its pre-Hurricane, privatized era, FPO was a joint venture between Hutchison Port Holdings and the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and little more than an annex of port operations. For MAG, this long-term deal is important as it represents the company’s first overseas contract of its kind and will act as a showcase of what it can do on the international stage.

Below, airportIR looks at what MAG will deliver in Grand Bahama, and what the government is looking for in terms of the airport itself and its wider economic benefit.

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