HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam International Airport Authority board approved a motion to conduct a determination of need, or DON, for certain GIAA properties.
The airport’s upper management sought approval by the board of directors for the DON for exceptional term leases for the development of GIAA property.
“Public Law 32-40 was enacted on June 11, 2013, and further amended by Public law 34-39, that was back in May 16, 2018, and amended created 5GCA 5127 of the procurement law that prohibits leases for a term in excess of five years, that includes extensions unless we go through the DON, as adopted by the board of directors which justify leases with terms in excess of five years,” Artemio Hernandez, deputy executive manager of the airport authority, said to board members.
Called an “exceptional term contract,” the determination of need is conducted as part of the process to secure the contract with the airport beyond five years. The period to conduct a DON is two years from March 7, 2024, to March 6, 2026, by law.
“On September 2015 the airport adopted prior determination of need, Public Law 34-99 specifies that a DON is valid for two years as I mentioned or until an exceptional term contract is executed to fill the stated agreement whichever comes first,” Hernandez said. “The airport since then has not had any exceptional term leases although there has been interest.”
During the meeting, the board moved to adopt the DON, “To justify the need for a commercial contract permit or license with a term longer than five years including extensions,” Hernandez said.
Now, the DON will go to the speaker of the Legislature and a notice of solicitation will be published.
“The solicitation is for an exceptional term contract, the term of the contract and the date of the DON,” Hernandez said.
“If someone is interested in going through this process then we would basically go through a solicitation process for interest and when we get to the point of negotiations that’s when a lot of the work happens,” he said.
Once all the steps for the exceptional contract are completed, the contract will be sent to the Legislature for approval or disapproval.
Artemio Hernandez
