Above: the design for the new airport in Grand Cayman

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Cayman Islands Airport Authority is planning a major redevelopment and expansion of Grand Cayman’s Owen Roberts International Airport, and now the concept designs have been revealed.

The new designs were created by Florida-based RS&H group, and intend to reflect the “silhouette of the local Green Sea Turtle,” the Airports Authority said in a statement.

Groundbreaking on the $67.1 million USD project is expected to begin in the summer.

The plan includes an expansion of the arrivals and departure area and eventually double the airport’s capacity from 77,000 square feet to 207,000 square feet.

It slated to take three years to complete, according to the CIAA.

“We are definitely on track and are accomplishing the deliverables on target,” said Albert Anderson, CEO of the CIAA. “Next will be the design development and then we will issue the tender documents. The goal is to break ground by the summer of 2015.”

The project is part of a wave of new Caribbean airports on stream, including new terminals on the way in St Vincent, Providenciales and Antigua.