Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 10, 2021 (SKNIS): The central air conditioning system at the R. L. Bradshaw International Airport will be replaced to enhance the comfort of staff, visitors, and others doing business at the facility.
Management at the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) is currently mulling quotes as it seeks to modernize the 20-year-old system.
“We have from time to time changed out the chiller part of the system, but a recent assessment revealed that the chiller itself, the compressors and condensers and so on are bad. The salty air has been impacting them and the air handlers … are not operating at capacity,” SCASPA’s Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tuffida Stewart, said on the September 08 edition of Working for You.
In the meantime, steps were taken to bring relief to key areas at the airport. These include repositioning a condenser from the welcome center to the departure lounge and replacing several air filters. However, these measures are a temporary fix.
“We are going to replace the system,” Ms. Stewart indicated. “We already have the quotes, and we are about to make a purchase of just about $1 million to procure and install a brand new central air conditioning system that is resistant to the impact of the salty air.
“It is expected that in the next eight to 10 weeks, we should have a brand new AC system. We are working assiduously to get that done and we want to apologize to the travelling public for what has happened,” she added, noting that the maintenance team will remain innovative in providing temporary relief in the interim.
