Miami airport boss preps for renewed debt debate MIAMI (Reuters) =97 Pressures facing the woman leading Miami's International= =20 Airport are just heating up. Angela Gittens, director of the nation's=20 leading gateway to Latin America, faces a revived debate this week over the= =20 fate of a hefty $4.8 billion capital improvement plan to the regional hub.= =20 The program has inspired heated criticism as it aims to overhaul the=20 nation's busiest international freight and third-busiest international=20 passenger airport at a time when travelers are sticking to their cars. Gittens campaigns loudly to pursue the improvements despite stubborn=20 weakness in aviation, and even though large bond offerings to fund the=20 project may further threaten the airport's credit rating. She concedes that= =20 the program is the biggest issue weighing on the airport, not new security= =20 requirements or war worries hurting travel. "Were it not for the capital=20 program, getting through 9/11 and dealing with the federal government=20 taking over your airport would really relatively not be that big an issue=20 for Miami because the fundamentals are still there," Gittens told Reuters=20 in an interview. As Gittens starts her third year as aviation department=20 director this month, she will meet with county officials this week and then= =20 Wall Street agencies on the program. At this point last year, she scaled=20 the plan back by $1.2 billion, and credit analysts say she may have to= again. ADDING UP THE DEBT Under Gittens, Miami International will take on roughly $4 billion in debt= =20 to pay for the multiyear improvement plan. Already, the airport has $2.3=20 billion in outstanding debt, according to credit analysts. Miami is not=20 alone in having billions in debt, given loans taken by airports in Denver,= =20 Seattle, Houston and Chicago. But Miami International's debt carries a=20 "negative" outlook, meaning the airport's credit rating could be=20 downgraded, making it more expensive to borrow. The questionable outlook,=20 according to Fitch Ratings, relates to the improvement plan and the risk=20 that persistent weakness in air travel may force an increase in the cost of= =20 that program. Fitch analyst James Gilliland said if air traffic continues=20 to flag, Miami International will be expected to pull back. "They told us=20 last year this was their long-term plan," Gilliland said. "We're holding=20 them to this. If passengers dry up and they don't decrease the amount of=20 bonds they're going to sell, that is when downgrades occur." While some=20 county officials have urged a pullback for months, business leaders,=20 especially in the international trade sector, are pushing for its=20 continuation despite debt levels. Miami now has a solid grip on the key=20 Latin America market, with leading positions in passenger traffic and=20 cargo. But the business community has continually questioned whether Miami= =20 would maintain that position without airport enhancements. "For easily over= =20 a decade, other airports have been slathering over the prospect of getting= =20 that trade," said Charles Jainarain, president of Miami-based trade=20 consulting firm Greenheart International. "There are wolves out there=20 waiting to get MIA's business. There's no doubt whatsoever about that," he= =20 said. AMERICAN'S ABSENCE? Other officials argue that the crisis among commercial carriers, especially= =20 AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, which has the biggest presence in Miami,=20 should give airport officials pause and prompt them to hold off on the=20 improvement program until the industry outlook is clearer. Gittens=20 disagrees. In fact, she said if American Airlines is forced to file=20 bankruptcy, or even leave Miami altogether, another carrier will move in=20 and replace it to serve the broad Latin American and Caribbean market. "We still have the market," Gittens said. "Miami is still here and Miami=20 has a destination. The geographic position of Miami is the real strength." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.tha.gov.tt/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************