Puerto Rico Ports Authority board members last week called for the resignation of executive director Alvaro Pilar.
Arnaldo DeLeo, the agency’s aviation director, will now serve as acting executive director. The PRPA oversees 11 airports, including San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, and nine maritime ports. Gov. Luis Fortuño picked Pilar to be executive director shortly after taking office in January 2009.
“After an extraordinary meeting held Tuesday afternoon, the board of directors of the Ports Authority called for the resignation of Alvaro Pilar as executive director,” Ruben Hernandez, board president and secretary of the Department of Transportation, said. “The resignation was effective [Tuesday]. We appreciate the time that Pilar served in the public service and wish him success in his future plans.”
A Hernandez spokeswoman declined to say why the board asked Pilar to leave.
The San Juan airport is a key asset that the commonwealth is seeking to generate new revenue from by entering it into a long-term concession agreement. That public-private partnership could include a major expansion and boost enplanements. The authority’s debt includes $55.6 million of senior-lien general revenue bonds and $712 million of subordinate-lien debt, according to presentation that Pilar gave at a conference in late February.
