Rafael Hernandez Airport
By:Jaime Santiago – Caribbean Business
November 11, 2010
The development of the Rafael Hernández Airport at the former Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla into a mega-cargo hub, a project that has been discussed on and off for many years, is being proposed again by the Puerto Rico District Export Council (PRDEC), the local chapter of the National Export District Council (NEDC), a private-sector organization that complements the U.S. Commercial Service’s export-promotion program.
“The Aguadilla facility could become a superhub for incoming and outgoing air cargo from and to many destinations including Europe, the Far East and North and South America,” said Jerónimo Lectora, a member of the PRDEC. “Aguadilla is a world-class airport with the necessary space for growth. Not only does the facility have the potential to handle traditional air-freight cargo, it also could become a small-package handling and sorting center for companies such as UPS, FedEx, DHL and others.”
Many close to the air-cargo transportation industry agree on the installation’s great potential for development. Industry sources say one of the main attractions of the Aguadilla airfield, which is under the control of the commonwealth Ports Authority, is its geographical location in relation to many other important cargo-handling airports worldwide.
“Most big cargo airplanes have a range of approximately 7,000 to 7,500 miles,” Lectora told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS. “That makes possible nonstop fl ights to and from most European airports to Aguadilla. That is a great advantage for this industry.”
According to a recent market study by Boeing, air-cargo traffic has been growing at a faster pace than passenger traffic since the 1970s. The study’s least optimistic projection is a 5.3% annual growth, with a more optimistic assessment of 6.9% growth. Another market study by Global Industry Analysis Inc., a globally recognized market- research publisher, shows that approximately 20% of the manufactured goods traded internationally use air-cargo transport, and this percentage is expected to reach 77% by the year 2020. The study notes that the ever-increasing need for just-in-time delivery will fuel this growth.
This expansion pattern in the worldwide aircargo industry has created the need for additional airport hub facilities. Since 2005, United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has constructed at least five regional freight hubs at airports across the United States and, just last year, FedEx filed a $28 million building permit to build a new two-story sorting facility next to its existing mega-hub on the north side of Memphis International Airport. The company also recently invested more than $200 million to expand its Indianapolis hub and has beefed up other facilities around the nation.
“There is a growing worldwide need for airfreight hubs,” Lectora said. “The most important factors for their selection are location, availability and infrastructure. Aguadilla has them all, and as an added value, there is no traffic congestion in the area.”
Joselin Ramos, senior vice president of CaribEx, an air-cargo company, said the former Air Force base’s assets go beyond location.
“The Aguadilla airport has one of the best and longest airstrips in the world,” Ramos said. “The central government should start with a simple plan—please, no more studies—that allows fast implementation and incentivizes that region’s growth. Any fine-tuning can be done along the way. The basics needed to start this important project already exist. There is a fine airport facility, all the needed space for the startup of satellite and support industries, excellent geographical location and good climate conditions.
“There are aerospace industry companies already established in the area. They could benefit from having this air hub nearby, and other companies in the field could be attracted to establish their operations in the area, thereby creating new jobs,” Lectora concurred.
“An aircraft-maintenance industry also would be a possibility,” he said. “Puerto Rico has the resources and human capital for this kind of business, which has enormous job-generating potential.”
PRDEC also is proposing a railroad connection to the Ponce transshipment port.
“This would make Puerto Rico a worldwide maritime and air-cargo transportation hub,” Ramos said.
One of the requisites for this proposal to work, PRDEC members said, is prompt implementation of the project.
“Kansas City promoted the establishment of foreign customs offices at its airport, dubbed ‘Kansas City Port,’ to expedite the freight customs- documentation process. The city has used this service very successfully to promote their facilities for cargo moving to and from the Far East and Mexico and Canada,” said Arturo Gallardo, also a member of the PRDEC. “The implementation of that concept in Aguadilla was discussed as early as 2000.”
Industry sources confirm that as of press time Monday, no action had been taken on the initiative.