–as GCAA moves to take the service regional
THE Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is looking to take its air traffic control service to Lethem, as the government gears to upgrade the airstrip there to a regional hub.
But by the look of things, it won’t be happening anytime soon; at least until the next two years, officials say.
In the meantime, plans are in train to sensitise Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) residents, particularly those at Lethem and other stakeholders of the GCAA’s aviation plans, and an outreach to this effect is carded for the Rupununi border town early next month.
The GCAA is expected to bring awareness to interested persons on air traffic control, a move which signals that the service will be provided to aircraft operating within the airspace at Lethem soon.
According to an advertisement, the GCAA plans to undertake the outreach on February 1-2 at the Ori Hotel at Lethem. The air navigation outreach will see presentations on the history of aviation in Guyana, and to provide residents with information on career opportunities in the sector, mainly air traffic control and related services such as aeronautical information services, the duties of management officers and other aviation professionals.
An aviation source noted over the weekend that among the authorities’ plans are the construction of facilities such as an air traffic control tower, and a port health facility at the Region Nine town.
Those plans are expected to materialise before the end of 2019.
Last November, the government was in the process of negotiating with a multilateral donor to secure a US$15M loan to finance a project for the further development of airstrips and aerodromes across the hinterland.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan, during his 2018 budget presentation, said the upgrade of the Lethem airstrip will allow flights originating from Brazil and other Latin American countries to land there.
Jordan disclosed that $35B has been allocated for infrastructural development in 2018, and that some $250M has been set aside to improve airstrips and aerodromes across the country.
Last October, Lethem was officially declared a town and President David Granger noted during celebrations to mark the occasion, that he foresees a bright future for Lethem, now that it no longer looks like the frontier town it once was that reminded him so much of the legendary ‘El Paso’ of the fabled Wild West.
“In the past, Lethem used to suffer from what I call ‘the compound mentality’,” the president said, in that back then during the colonial period, the country was run by “a few compounds” of senior officials who were more concerned about taxation than with development.
“Today, we have a municipality which comes from among the people that are concerned with development and not government. That is why we changed the name from the Ministry of Local Government to the Ministry of Communities,” the president said.
The President also called on residents to adopt a policy of cooperation, despite their political differences. “Say Rupununi first!” he declared.
