DESPITE the $62,579 and $164,338 deficits incurred in November and December 2023 respectively, the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s airport and seaport revenues in the last four months of last year were “above budget,” according to a financial report submitted to the CPA board last week.
During a regular board meeting on Thursday, CPA board member Dolores P. Kiyoshi, who chairs the Financial Affairs Committee, presented a report indicating that CPA’s airports on Saipan, Tinian and Rota collected $665,083 in September 2023, which was 18% above budget, and $272,458 in October 2023, which was 9% above budget, for a total of $937,541.
However, the CNMI airports incurred deficits of $62,579 in November 2023 and $164,338 in December 2023 for a total deficit of $226,917.
As a result, the net revenue of CPA’s airports was $710,624.
The financial report for the CNMI seaports states that CPA collected $901,696 in September 2023; $272,458 in October 2023; $368,920 in November 2023; and $522,348 in December 2023 for a total of $2,065,422. These monthly revenues were above the amounts budgeted for each of the months, the report stated.
It added that the amounts from October to December 2023 did not reflect the revenue earned from reimbursable grants, which CPA received in January 2024. Kiyoshi said the reimbursement will be reflected in the January 2024 financial report.
CPA Chair Jose C. Ayuyu said the deficits are not something to be really concerned about. He asked his fellow board members not to be alarmed as “we are working on trying to reverse that.”
Covid-19 grants balance
Kiyoshi also reported on the status of the grant funding that CPA received from the Federal Aviation Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Of the more than $37 million awarded to CPA under these federal appropriations, the autonomous agency has drawn down a total of $36.2 million, leaving a total balance of $772,483, as of Jan. 24, 2024.
