Main Airport on Cayman Islands Getting Major Facelift

A megabuck expansion planned for Owen Roberts Airport in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, will triple the size of the main terminal facility to 205,000 square feet and will be done while the airport remains open and operational, according to Charles Clifford, minister of tourism.

When completed, the airport will be able to handle up to 1.25 million passengers a year, up from the current 800,000. The construction, which is expected to take up to three years to complete, will be done in three phases, Clifford said.

Phase one –expansion of the ticket hall and construction of the domestic passenger area and the immigration and baggage claim area- is expected to be completed by November 2008.

Phase two will see the construction of the boarding connections, the meetings hall and the international departures lounge; it is projected to be finished by August 2009. In the third and final phase, the remaining interior spaces will be renovated by June 2010.

An expansion of the existing airport facility on Little Cayman will take place at the same time and will include a new runway and a small terminal.