Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn has said that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion project will go ahead as planned.
He made this disclosure on Saturday, and when asked where the funding will be coming from, he indicated that last year $20M was approved and advanced by the National Assembly.
The minister noted that the project is a valid one since the contractor is on the ground and equipment is already arriving.
The sod was turned last March for the project that will improve Guyana’s capacity to accommodate larger aircrafts, thereby realising its potential as a hub for flights to and from North and South America and further afield.
Guyana’s main port of entry will boast a runway of a total of 10,800 feet, a new terminal building, eight boarding bridges, elevators, escalators, three dimensional x-ray scanners, flight information and security monitoring systems.
The length of the current runway precludes larger aircrafts from coming to Guyana.
“We want to develop a hub, not only a regional hub for South America and the Caribbean, but also for Trans-Atlantic flights from Southern Africa and other parts going out to the East,” Benn noted.
He also explained that there are a large number of flights from Latin America flying over Guyana’s territory and the implementation of the expansion presents an opportunity for them to land here and transfer passengers.
“So there’s a big opportunity we’re foregoing if we don’t do this project,” Benn emphasised.
On an annual basis an average 4,000 international flights and 600,000 passengers arrive at the CJIA, and these numbers are expected to double in the near future and by the year 2030, triple.
This CJIA project will also enable the effective and efficient handling of passengers and aircrafts
Meanwhile Benn last Wednesday met with residents of Phase 2 North Timehri to further discuss the issue of their relocation from the CJIA and how the government can aid in making the process easier.
The Ministry of Public Works is collaborating with the Ministries of Housing and Human Services and Social Security, and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to fast track the process.
The minister acknowledged that the while the procedure is painful and the anxieties are recognised, government wants to allay those as much as possible. Efforts are also being made to finalise the relocation plan which is influenced by the data collected at the meetings with the residents.
So far a fair amount of work has gone into the development of a planned community in Yarrowkabra where space will be available for schools, a health centre and a playground.
Benn told the residents that while the government will not be able to compensate them for relocating, they will however explore ways to assist them including consideration of the purchasing of a bus to provide transportation and assisting with cement mixers however, equity cannot be placed on a house that would have been built without a legal title.
“Our effort here is to advance the process whereby the land required for the airport expansion and the establishment of safe areas for airport operations of an international standard are sequestered…that we get those lands and we put them to proper utilisation,” Benn emphasised.
In recalling the previous meetings about the airport’s expansion, the minister stressed that the runway is too short for efficient and safe airport operations of an international standard, and the terminal is also too small to handle efficiently the number of people who travel in and out of Guyana.
“This airport expansion project is a critical national development project…if we are unable to bring people to Guyana at cheaper airfares, if we are unable to handle them efficiently, if we are unable to have an airport that is safe (meaning that planes don’t run off the end or crash into people’s homes) or if we don’t have an airport that is secure from the risk of armed attacks we would not meet the standards of an international airport. We would not be certified at the level which is necessary for this type of operation,” Benn said.
Apart from the residents, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Guyana Prison Service (GPS) also have to be relocated.
He added that the current matter is one that was inherited, and all the lands indicated as Plantation Hyde Park were since 1942 given as lease for airport operations; these lands extend to where the Dakota Circuit is located and the space occupied by the GDF. This also explains why the occupants are squatters because they do not have a transport or a permission document to occupy the lands.
The minister recalled that this is not the first time the Housing Ministry is dealing with situations where people had to be relocated. He was referring to those who were repositioned from the Lamaha Railway Embankment to areas where they own a piece of titled land.
Chief Executive Officer, Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Ramesh Ghir who was also present at the meeting, explained that the purpose of the meetings was to engage with the persons living close to the airport, particularly those from Timehri North, to gather demographic information which would then be factored into an evaluation that would guide the decisions regarding relocation.
He noted that there are challenges when it comes to processing passengers in a timely manner in the terminal building. While this has been the situation for many years, Ghir indicated that the decision was taken in November 2007 to expand the airport.
“What we recognised early, as part of the expansion programme was that we would need the land that belongs to the airport to expand the runway, and also for us to be compliant with international requirements,” he noted.
He recalled that prior to 2008 there were correspondences with people in the area and a census was done so that the CJIA’s management could have been informed of how many homes and families occupied Timehri North and its environs. Notices were also given and people were discouraged from continuing building on the land; unfortunately the warnings went unheeded.
After another survey, Ghir noted that from 2008 to 2013, the number of homes increased from approximately 300 to 325, and the number of people from 800 to over 1,400.
A similar meeting was held about two weeks ago with those residents who were considered to be in Phase 1, those who reside very close to the airport and would be directly impacted by the extension project since they would be in line with the runway.
