conference where the privatisation of airports is being discussed.

The Hon. Maxwell Burgess is at the Fifth Annual Regional Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Airports, along with Mr. Jack Gordon, general manager of Bermuda International Airport.

The conference, which wraps up on Thursday, began yesterday in Santo Domingo.

More than 20 regional delegates are attending the event titled: "The Privatisation of Airport Services: Challenges and Opportunities.'' Besides Bermuda, delegates from Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Martin, Haiti, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada, are among those in attendance.

"It is an important event for the Caribbean and nation's aviation industry,'' said Mr. Joaquin Ricardo, head of the Dominican Republic's Airport and Ports Department.

The first workshop begins today with a report focusing on liberalisation and privatisation.

Bermuda's Airport, which was handed over to Government control from the US Navy on June 1, is expected to cost the Island about $20 million a year to operate.

But Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul recently predicted that by increasing Airport revenues, the facility could be breaking even within five years.