Construction of the airport commenced in January 2000. Later in the year, Spanish airports company Aena signed a contract with the Cuban government to build and operate the new airport, thus becoming the first foreign entity to manage a Cuban airport. Management is shared with the Cuban company ECASA. The first phase of the project was completed in early 2002, which encompassed the construction of the runway, taxiways, apron, air traffic control tower and a temporary terminal with a capacity for 150 passengers. The airport was officially inaugurated on 26 December 2002 upon the completion of a larger terminal, which brought the airport's annual capacity to 1.2 million passengers.