–to operate departures from modernised facility next week

REGIONAL carrier, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is about to claim dibs come next week as the first airline to operate from the new-look departure lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).

And while no other word has been forthcoming from either CAL or CJIA management on this development, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson is willing to wager that the US$150M the government is spending to bring the airport in line with international standards is money well spent.

He said as much Friday when asked whether the government will be getting the most bang for the kind of buck it is willing to spend on upgrading the facility.
“Value for money? Yes! The answer is yes!” Minister Patterson reassured his audience, especially those who had their reservations.

The occasion was the conclusion of a guided tour arranged that day for parliamentarians, members of the private sector and other stakeholders at the conclusion of a site visit of the modernised airport at Timehri on Friday.

In an effort to justify his claim, Minister Patterson said when he assumed the leadership of the MPI back in 2015, it was discovered that at the time more money was being paid out as opposed to the value of work being done.

VALUE FOR MONEY
“So what we had to do is ensure that the project can be engineered to ensure that we have value for money, and have it completed,” he said, adding that Cabinet was adamant that the project can be completed without going over budget.
“But I do think is it value for money; I do think it is a project that the Guyanese public would be proud of when they actually come to see it,” Minister Patterson told his audience, which besides members of the media, comprised Minster of Foreign Affairs, Mr Carl Greenidge; Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Ms Annette Ferguson; Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Mr Jaipaul Sharma; Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Karen Cummings; and Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Ms Valerie Garrido Lowe.
Also part of the visiting team was Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Barton Scotland.
Notably absent were members of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), who reportedly abstained from participating in the tour.
But as Minister Patterson was at pains to explain, the purpose of the tour was to ensure everyone who would have visited was able to assess the project for themselves, and more than that, ask questions of everyone, including staff.

DECEMBER DEADLINE
And while the multi-million-dollar expansion project is slated for completion by December 2018, sections of it that are almost done are expected to be handed over by the contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), to the CJIA management in phases, from as early as June.

Those sections include the modernised departure lounge, where escalators and baggage carousels are already up and running, and work is currently being done on installing the elevators.

By June, visitors to the facility were told, the new arrival terminal, along with the fire and pump stations are expected to be handed over the to the CJIA management.
“And that is what you will be seeing happening between June and the end of the year,” Minister Patterson said. “We will be using sections as we move out.”
Still to be done, he said, are the roof of the airport, and the fencing.
As regards questions on the auditing of the project, Patterson said that that is the responsibility of the Auditor-General, as it is he who audits all projects where government expenditure is concerned. As a matter of fact, he said that the project was being audited from the inception.

RECORD ARRIVALS
In terms of visitor arrivals, Minister Patterson said that Guyana has been seeing record increases of late. “For the first time in the history of this country,” he said, “we are having more passengers arriving than departing.”

In terms of passenger comfort, he said that at the moment, the installation of two air bridges have been completed, while provision is also being made to have two more installed. “Our intention is that on opening, we will have four air bridges,” the minister said.
Minister Patterson described the expansion as a “living dynamic project”, adding that while plans are in train for commercial space outside the facility, the funds to do it will have to be sourced, as this was not budgetted for under the CHEC contract.
He said, too, that tenders will have to be published for the installation of a roundabout, which is also outside the ambit of the CHEC contract.

‘AN EXCELLENT FACILITY’
Minister Greendige said he hopes that the management of the airport can take advantage of what is “an excellent facility”, as it has the potential of becoming a significant hub within the Caribbean region.
According to Director-General of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Mr Donald Sinclair, a modernised airport is “of huge importance” to tourism agencies, and agency representatives are already “hugely impressed” by the developments they are seeing taking place at Timehri.
He said the tourism agency would be compiling its own bits of recommendations to the MPI to target the tourism sector, adding that the new modern facilities are a “vast improvement” to what obtained in the past.