Airports contractor admits using US$559M to pay debt, dividends

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican airports management company (Aerodom) on Wednesday admitted using US$234 million to pay a debt with the Bank of Nova Scotia and US$333 million in dividends to shareholder.

The revelation surfaced yesterday in a document during a meeting of Aerodom (Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI ) executives with the Senate National Security Defense Committee which investigates the US$550 million bond offering by the company.

The Senate Committee also studies the bill that granted the contract to manage most of the country’s airports to the company.

According to some members of the Committee conducting the probe, Aerodom has failed to materialize the investments pledged in the international airports.

The contractor’s executives asked the Commission to allow them 15 days to deliver a document with the details of the transaction.

In a statement, Aerodom general director Mónica Infante Henríquez said that in the more than 13 years since the contract took effect, its shareholders hadn’t been paid dividends until it obtained capital from the bond.