CPA incurred over $160K deficit

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has reportedly already incurred a deficit of over $160,000.

It was learned from CPA board chair Joe Ayuyu during a CPA board meeting last week that, as of last Thursday, the organization has incurred a deficit of over $160,000 on the airport side.

“As of December 2023, we as an organization incurred the loss of approximately $166,000 in terms of our airports. The operating revenues is about $3.1 million, and the operating expenses are about $3.2 million. That’s where the difference is. But don’t be alarmed, we are working on trying to reverse that,” he said.

Ayuyu said the deficit was mainly incurred at the Rota International Airport, which he claims is in bad shape.

“I was just looking at the different areas—Rota, Tinian, and Saipan—and where the losses are coming from. In the case of Saipan, we were able to make over $500,000 income. In the case of Rota, we lost about $163,000. In Tinian, we made money, about $3,000. We will continue to monitor the losses. This is through no fault of Rota because they were in pretty bad shape. So, we’re all here to help each other out,” he said.

Ayuyu said he is determined to find ways to remedy the situation.

“We need to tighten our belts. We need to do everything we can to not spend money that is unnecessary while still maintaining operations at our Rota airport. We need to strike a balance between what we need to do, and what we can spend. Overall, everything looks okay. The deficit is not something to be really concerned about,” he said.

One of the ways Ayuyu is looking at to remedy the situation is by collecting money from CPA’s vendors and partners.

“Another thing that really caught my eye when I was looking through our financials is how much money is owed CPA. I will be working with our attorney to target the largest debt so we can make a difference in terms of collecting money. If we can collect money from [those] who owes us the most, that would really help us improve our cash flow. So, there’s a lot of work. Some of this debt goes back years. I don’t know if it’s because in the past, CPA didn’t have the guts to collect it, but I’m going to do something about this because it’s not right. These individuals received service and they’re not paying. You can’t do that,” he said.

In addition, CPA will now be implementing a service charge for vendors on invoices that have not been paid within a certain amount of time.

CPA’s Seaports side, on the other hand, is doing very well, Ayuyu said.

“Revenues at the Saipan Seaport was about $1.9 million. Rota lost about $12,000 while Tinian made about $36,000. The problem currently lies with our airports. That’s where my attention will be focused on,” he said.