D’Aguilar: Airspace monetization soon finalized

D’Aguilar: Airspace monetization soon finalized
Minister of Tourism, Dionisio D'Aguilar.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Tourism and aviation minister Dionisio D’Aguilar confirmed Tuesday that government is expecting to bring to a close, in a matter of days, its request for proposals for a company to manage the monetization of the country’s airspace.

D’Aguilar made the announcement outside of Cabinet office on Tuesday morning.

The idea that the country could be making hundreds of thousands of dollars from its airspace has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now.

It’s a question that Eyewitness News Online posed to the aviation minister during the last quarter of 2018 and he assured that the government was actively looking into the idea.

Months later, D’Aguilar has confirmed that the government is expected to narrow the RFP process by next week.

“We have issued an RFP for a company to help us monetize our airspace, because we have no institutional knowledge on it since we have never done it, and so, the RFP closes the end of this month,” he said.

Bids will then be reviewed and an entity will be chosen to move the project forward, according to D’Aguilar.

At the same time, the aviation minister confirmed that his ministry is also in the process of clamping down on hackers.

Air hackers have also been a discussion that Eyewitness News Online engaged the minister during the second quarter of 2018.

Almost one year later, he confirmed that the government is making significant inroads in regulating the aviation industry; namely a crackdown on hackers.

“I am in consultation with the Director General of The Bahamas Civil Aviation Authority; I think that he is about to issue the necessary regulations and advise the public about these regulations,” he revealed.

“Steps are being followed in terms of introducing these regulations and I expect something imminently.”

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.