-Min Ferguson

IN creating better access to hinterland areas in 2019, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, said a budgetary allocation of $2Billion will cater for the maintenance and rehabilitation of airstrips in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine and another $17M to install LED lights to facilitate night flights.

Minister Ferguson, in her budget debate presentation on Wednesday in the National Assembly, said the sum also caters for upgrades of airstrips; these include $50M for Port Kaituma and another $50M for Phillipai. Also, $184M has been provided in budget 2019 for the rehabilitation of the Lethem aerodrome. Ferguson indicated that maintenance and rehabilitation of hinterland airstrips remain a high priority on the government’s agenda.

“Our government understands the importance of having access and ensuring the provision of goods and services to the hinterland communities and the fact that our Indigenous brothers and sisters along with members of the business community depend on air travel into various communities,” she said.

Additionally, in order to allow night flights to and from the hinterland, $17M has been set aside for the procurement of LED lights and charging ports for airstrips in the communities of Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Bimechi and Mahdia.
In 2018, the government provided the total sum of $250M to conduct upgrades at the Bemichi airstrip in Region One and Kamarang in Region Seven.

Meanwhile, Minister Ferguson said the Canawaima Ferry Service continues to operate on its generated revenue as it continues to provide the much-desired travel needs for Guyanese and Surinamese, with a preference for using the ferry service. Minister Ferguson also said that $159M in the 2019 budget will go towards the continuation of the hinterland electrification projects.

She said the funding for 2019 will cover network expansion to residents within commercial zones in Lethem and the expansion of sub-station in Lethem to accommodate an additional one-megawatt solar farm and hydropower supplies from Moco Moco and Kumu in the near future.

A sum of $5M will be expended towards the procurement of tools for the transmission and distribution department. An allocation of $89M will see the undertaking of several projects, including the procurement of underground cable for the Mabaruma distribution network, the extension of electricity supply in Oronoque, Port Kaituma, and upgrade distribution network at Kwakwani.

For the extension of the network distribution in the Orealla and Siparuta area, $15M has been budgeted. In addition, $6M has been provided for the procurement of oily water separators for utility companies in hinterland regions.