– on claims it used public funds on CJIA feasibility study
The Office of the President (OP) has reacted to the latest act of misinformation by Kaieteur News that air transport studies are being organised and created by OP, urging that the newspaper produce the evidence to support its claims. OP, in a statement, said that the newspaper also maligns the effort behind the construction of the new airport facility at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). “This is the level to which the Kaieteur News has fallen,” OP said.
The Administration has rejected the claims absolutely and in their entirety, stating that at no time has the PPP/C administration used public funds to commission a feasibility study in establishing a National Airline in Guyana.
“Cabinet has never been approached and has never issued approval for the use of public funds for such a study. Furthermore, at no time has the PPPC administration sought to incorporate a National Airline nor to establish such an airline as a national flagship carrier,” the statement reads.
OP asserts, as equally ridiculous, the claim that the airway expansion at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) was an effort to obtain a new category from the FAA in the United States of America.
“The records would show that CJIA had that original category and lost it due to human capacity constraints. It was not any reconstruction or rehabilitation of the airport that is needed to restore the loss category.”
The administration calls on Kaieteur News, “to produce the evidence, to make public the documents they claim that show that this Administration was involved in their ridiculous claims.”
The Guyana Government is moving ahead with plans to construct a modern airport of international standards. The new 14,000 square meter building will include multiple terminals, and an extended runway.
Government budgeted $4.5B in the 2012 National Budget to cover the cost of the project.