The official tender process has begun for the upgrades to two of Nicaragua’s flight centers; Bluefields and Corn Island Airports.
Financing will be provided by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration – CABEI, (known as El Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica – BCIE in Spanish).
As reported in January of this year, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) will provide financing of US $25,260,000 for new construction and repairs to existing infrastructure at both Bluefields and Corn Island Airports, on the Caribbean side of Nicaragua.
The upgrading is part of a CABEI five-year program aimed at the indigenous communities of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast.
The various parts to the projects include; rehabilitation and expansion of the terminals, paving some of the access routes, work on the sewer system, rehabilitation of the aircraft parking apron, update runway safety and install a security fence around the perimeter of the airports. Other expenses are purchasing equipment and furniture for the normal operation and maintenance of both airports.
For this stage of the process, the EAAI will be accepting responses to the tenders for the two projects until August 12th. The initial call for expressions of interest (sent out on June 21st 2021) contained 70 questions for prospective suppliers and resulted in Corn Island Airport receiving the most interest.
EAAI
Airports in Nicaragua are operated by a state run management company known by its acronym EAAI (Empresa Administradora de Aeropuertos Internacionales).
The EAAI operates a number of national air terminals in the country, including; Puerto Cabezas, Bluefields, Corn Island, Ometepe and San Juan de Nicaragua, as well as the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua.
They also share the operation of the Costa Esmeralda Airport in Tola, Rivas which is a PPP (Public Private Partnership) called Corporación del Sur SA between the Pellas Development Group and the International Airport Administration Company (EAAI).
La Costeña
La Costeña fly a route between Managaua-Bluefields-Corn Island with a fleet of two ATR42-300s and five Cessna (single turboprop) C208B Grand Caravans.
Click here for La Costeña reservations to one of Nicaragua’s “Paradisiacal Locations”.
