THE importance of airports to economic development cannot be over emphasized, because in today’s world air transport plays a major and crucial role in moving goods and people across the globe. Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, India and Chairman, Air-India Limited, K. Roy Paul in an article on airport modernisation in India, noted: “With phenomenal growth in air traffic, the importance of air transport in the whole economy has increased considerably. Its role in transportation of people, cargo and creation of jobs needs no emphasis. Airports have become the key nods in the production and commercial systems and engines of local economic development. With more and more business taking place around these airports, a new urban form is fast emerging. Civil Aviation contributes to prosperity and creates opportunities for employment, business, commerce, trade and tourism industry.”
Indeed, the number of people and the volume of goods that are transported by air is increasing in most parts of the world and as what is happening in India, many other countries need to do the same.
Our lone international airport, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) over the years has undergone a dramatic transformation from what it was a couple of decades ago and today, while there is scope for more improvements, the international terminal is now comparable to other airports in the region. The airport, which had its origins in what was then the Atkinson Airfield, became the Timehri International Airport under the previous government which allowed it to deteriorate into a decrepit condition.
And now the government is addressing a major issue at CJIA, that is,  lengthening of the runway which has been preventing larger aircraft from coming here and by extension restricting direct flights much to the inconvenience of visitors to our country.
Therefore, the announcement of the conclusion of a contract to extend the runway and installation of additional facilities is most welcome.
Cabinet has approved a US$138M design and construction contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). 
The project, which was first announced several months ago, is expected to include an extension of the runway to a total of 10,800 feet to accommodate large, transatlantic aircraft such as the Boeing 747, along with construction of a new terminal building, acquisition of eight boarding bridges, and installation of other state-of-the-art equipment such as elevators, escalators, and x-ray scanners using three-dimensional technology, along with flight information and security monitoring systems.
However, because of the high costs associated with modernisation of air transport facilities, the public/private sector partnership model is increasingly being used.
With respect to Cochin Airport, Mr. Roy Paul points out: “While state government is an important shareholder in the company, private parties including non-resident Indians (NRI) and certain service providers like Air India, Bharat Petroleum, State Bank of Travancore and Federal Bank are the other shareholders. The largest shareholding is by about 10,000 NRIs living in 30 countries. Some loans were raised from banks and interest-free deposits were mobilized from the service providers and concessionaires.”
In Guyana, we have also resorted to this model and the modernisation and upgrading of the Ogle Airport to a municipal facility, one such project which has utilised the public/private sector model.
When this project is completed along with the one at CJIA, our country’s ability to accommodate larger and more aircraft would have been significantly boosted.