By LCN Business Desk
A Caribbean contractor has won the largest airport construction contract in the Eastern Caribbean this year, and made its case on unit cost. The project it measured itself against opened in Tobago in March 2025 with its final contract sum still unsettled.
What was signed, and for what?
A contract to build the terminal that completes a redevelopment already under way.
NH International (Caribbean) signed with the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority on 20 October 2026, the Trinidad Guardian reported. The signing in Castries was attended by Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, Infrastructure Minister Shawn Edwards, SLASPA chairman Francis Fontenelle and general manager Darren Cenac, with NH executive chairman Emile Elias and chief executive Ciaran Conlon.
| The contract | |
|---|---|
| Value | US$243 million, given as EC$666 million |
| Terminal | 274,000 square feet, three storeys, built as an extension of the existing facility |
| Gates | Five contact gates with boarding bridges, one further aircraft parking position, provision for eight |
| Completion target | Late 2029 |
| Existing terminal | Remains operational throughout construction |
| Tender | 27 firms expressed interest, seven submitted proposals |
Source: the Trinidad Guardian, 25 October 2026, reporting the signing and an NH International news release.
Airside works cover aircraft aprons, drainage and floodlighting. The terminal adds expanded departure lounges, immigration and customs facilities, upgraded baggage handling, restaurants, duty-free retail and premium lounges.
NH was described as the best-evaluated bidder after technical and financial assessments overseen by independent professionals. Mr Pierre said at the signing: "We have full confidence in the process that's got us where we are," adding, "We have full confidence in the capacity and capability of the contractor."
Why does the Authority call this a re-redevelopment?
Because the work being bought is the end of a programme, not the start of one.
The Authority's own tender, published on the Government of Saint Lucia portal on 14 July 2025, is titled "Completion of Construction of the Hewanorra International Airport Re-Redevelopment Project, Vieux Fort". Its text asks for proposals for the completion of construction of the Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Project, which it describes as "the build out of the new Hewanorra International Airport terminal building and ancillary infrastructure which is the final phase of this significant airport infrastructure improvement programme".
Proposals were due at 10:00 local time on Friday 26 September 2025, with tender documents available from 2 July. The tender sits under the Ministry of Public Service, Transport, Information and Utilities.
So what was signed last week is the final phase of a programme whose earlier phases are already built. Who held the earlier construction contract, and why the Authority tendered a completion, is not established in the published record this newspaper has searched.
What did the contractor say the terminal costs?
US$509 a square foot, as an estimate at signing.
Mr Elias gave the estimated construction cost of the new terminal building as US$509 a square foot. On 274,000 square feet that is about US$139.5 million, roughly 57 per cent of the contract, with the balance covering airside and ancillary works. Both of those are this newspaper's calculations from the two published figures, not a published split.
Converted, US$509 a square foot is about US$5,479 per square metre.
What is the benchmark it was measured against?
A Tobago terminal delivered at US$6,000 per square metre, on a contract sum that had not been finalised.
The comparison is the contractor's own. At the official opening of the new terminal at ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago in March 2025, then finance minister Colm Imbert set out the project's unit cost.
| ANR Robinson terminal, Tobago, as stated at its opening | Per square metre |
|---|---|
| Delivered at | About US$6,000 |
| Caribbean regional average | About US$11,200 |
| Global average | About US$13,800 |
Source: Colm Imbert at the opening ceremony, Trinidad Guardian, 20 March 2025.
"In other words, we have built more for less," Mr Imbert said. "The story is similar when we look at the cost per passenger: our project's cost works out to roughly US$53 per annual passenger capacity, whereas comparable airport projects average about US$177 per passenger."
At the same ceremony, National Infrastructure Development Company chairman Herbert George set out the contract's history. The project began on 18 July 2020 and was expected to be completed in July 2022, at an original contract sum of US$128,663,741. The final contract sum, he said, would be determined following the outcome of the evaluation of claims submitted by the contractor, China Railway Construction Caribbean Company Ltd.
So the per-square-metre figure that Tobago's terminal was praised for, and that Hewanorra has now been measured against, was calculated at an opening where the project's own final sum was still open and its contractor's claims were still being evaluated. The facility opened about two years and eight months after the July 2022 date its managers had expected.
Both numbers are of the same kind. One is an estimate at signing and the other was a figure published before the account closed.
What does a Caribbean firm winning this change?
It puts a regional contractor on the largest airport job in the sub-region, against international bidders.
NH International has operated in 11 countries, delivered more than US$1 billion in construction services and completed over 100 projects, and is a seven-time recipient of the Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association's Contractor of the Year award. Mr Elias has been in construction for 61 years, and the contract returns him to Hewanorra 32 years after he built the terminal the new one extends.
The firm has three projects running in Saint Lucia, including the Halls of Justice, delivered under a Build Own Lease Transfer arrangement with completion expected by mid-2027 at a total investment cost estimated at about US$61 million.
"NH is and always has been an international construction company," Mr Elias said. "We will continue to focus on and execute our regional expansion plans." He committed the firm to maximising the use of Saint Lucian contractors, suppliers, labour and materials, and framed the award in CARICOM terms: "thank you and your Cabinet for your belief in Caricom, which unites the Caribbean people."
That cuts against the usual pattern on large Caribbean infrastructure, where the terminal across the water in Tobago was built by a Chinese state contractor and tenders of this size commonly draw extra-regional firms. Twenty-seven expressions of interest narrowing to seven proposals is a competitive field by Eastern Caribbean standards, and the winner was formed in the region.
What did the contractor say about procurement?
That Saint Lucia's framework is robust and his own country's has been weakened.
Mr Elias praised Saint Lucia's procurement framework and said of Trinidad and Tobago: "I am extremely disappointed that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago have found it necessary to weaken the procurement laws of T&T." He said he expected the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry to continue advocating for a stronger Office of Procurement Regulation.
The award also lands, as the Guardian noted, while construction firms in Trinidad and Tobago continue to raise concerns about delayed payments and the slow rollout of government projects.
What is not established?
Four things, and the contract value is one of them.
No statement from SLASPA or the Government of Saint Lucia confirming the contract value was found on 26 October 2026. The value is carried by the Trinidad Guardian, which attributes it in part to an NH International news release, so it rests on the contractor's own account and one outlet.
Whether Tobago's final contract sum has since been determined is not established. Who held the earlier Hewanorra construction contract is not established. And the tender record carries a discrepancy: the Authority's notice closed proposals on 26 September 2025, while reporting elsewhere places the seven proposals as received on 30 November 2025.
What is fixed is the date. A terminal is to be built over roughly three years on a unit cost quoted at signing, and the last Caribbean terminal to quote one took until its opening to say the number was not final.
The entities
- NH International (Caribbean) is the Trinidad and Tobago contractor awarded the Hewanorra terminal contract, founded and chaired by Emile Elias, with Ciaran Conlon as chief executive.
- Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) is the statutory authority that tendered and signed the contract, chaired by Francis Fontenelle with Darren Cenac as general manager.
- Hewanorra International Airport at Vieux Fort is Saint Lucia's principal gateway for long-haul international travel.
- Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Project (HIARP) is the programme whose final phase this contract completes.
- Philip J Pierre is the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, and Shawn Edwards the Minister of Infrastructure.
- ANR Robinson International Airport at Crown Point, Tobago, is the airport whose new terminal provides the unit-cost benchmark.
- China Railway Construction Caribbean Company Ltd is the contractor that built the Tobago terminal.
- National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) managed the Tobago project, and Herbert George is its chairman.
- Colm Imbert is the former Trinidad and Tobago finance minister who gave the Tobago unit costs at the terminal's opening.
- Office of Procurement Regulation is the Trinidad and Tobago body Mr Elias said should be strengthened.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
- US$243m. The contract value, given as EC$666 million. Source: the Trinidad Guardian, 25 October 2026.
- 274,000 sq ft. The three-storey terminal, built as an extension of the existing facility. Source: as above.
- US$509 a square foot. The estimated construction cost of the terminal building, per Emile Elias. Source: as above.
- US$6,000 per square metre. The Tobago terminal's delivered unit cost as stated at its opening, equal to about US$557 a square foot. Source: Colm Imbert, Trinidad Guardian, 20 March 2025.
- US$128,663,741. The original Tobago contract sum, with the final sum to be determined following evaluation of the contractor's claims. Source: Herbert George, as above.
- Late 2029. The Hewanorra completion target. Source: the Trinidad Guardian, 25 October 2026.
- 27 and seven. Firms expressing interest, and proposals submitted. Source: as above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Hewanorra International Airport contract and for how much?
NH International (Caribbean), a Trinidad and Tobago contractor, signed a US$243 million contract, given as EC$666 million, with the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority on 20 October 2026. The value is reported by the Trinidad Guardian, attributed in part to an NH International news release; no SLASPA or government statement confirming it was found.
What is being built?
A 274,000 square foot, three-storey passenger terminal as an extension of the existing facility, with five contact gates and boarding bridges, one further aircraft parking position and provision for eight gates, plus airside aprons, drainage and floodlighting. Completion is targeted for late 2029 and the existing terminal stays operational throughout.
Why is the project called a re-redevelopment?
That is the Authority's own title on its tender of 14 July 2025. The tender sought proposals for the completion of construction of the Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Project, described as the final phase of the programme, so the contract finishes work already under way rather than starting it.
How does the cost compare with the new Tobago terminal?
Emile Elias gave the Hewanorra terminal at US$509 a square foot, about US$5,479 per square metre. At the Tobago terminal's opening in March 2025, then finance minister Colm Imbert gave that project at about US$6,000 per square metre, against a Caribbean average of about US$11,200 and a global average of about US$13,800.
Was the Tobago figure final?
No. At the same ceremony, NIDCO chairman Herbert George said the project began on 18 July 2020 with an expected completion of July 2022 and an original contract sum of US$128,663,741, and that the final contract sum would be determined following evaluation of claims submitted by the contractor. Whether it has since been determined is not established.