NASSAU| Documents reviewed by NewsGate show that the BACSWN weather project, including its proposed fee model, received government support under the FNM before being advanced through a Heads of Agreement signed by the PLP government.
A February 14, 2020 letter from then Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar states that Cabinet considered the BACSWN proposal on October 15, 2019, following a presentation by Montino Roberts and Robert Carron.
The government subsequently supported plans for an integrated aviation, climate and severe- weather network, with infrastructure proposed for up to 109 locations across The Bahamas.
The project also included a 24-hour Meteorological Watch Office, a Convergence Centre in Nassau and proposed access to certain government-owned aviation and weather-radar systems during a 25-year concession.
Significantly, the letter shows that the collection of aviation-weather fees formed part of the project from its early stages.
It stated that BACSWN would have delegated powers to “assess, determine, consult, set, levy, impose and/or collect fees” for real-time meteorological services within Bahamian sovereign airspace.
However, those powers were tied to the terms of a Heads of Agreement that was still to be negotiated. The letter therefore demonstrates government support for the proposed fee model, but does not establish that BACSWN was authorised to begin collecting fees in 2020.
The project later crossed administrations.
On May 7, 2025, the Davis administration signed a Heads of Agreement with BACSWN to establish the Caribbean’s first NextGEN Meteorological Watch Office and expand real-time aviation and atmospheric monitoring.
The documents establish that BACSWN and its proposed fee model did not originate solely under the current administration. The project received Cabinet-level consideration under the Minnis administration before being carried forward by the Davis administration.
However, questions remain about the final fee structure, how the charges will be approved and collected, the government’s share of the revenue and how BACSWN’s fees will interact with existing aviation charges.
The complete Heads of Agreement and any approved fee schedule or regulatory instruments would provide the clearest answers.
