Dear Editor,

THE Kaieteur News front page headline “Guyana loses out big-time in Ogle Airport deal with ExxonMobil” (Sunday, April 7, 2019), and the report which follows is absolute rubbish.

The fact that Exxon Mobil is building their office headquarters at the EF Correia International Airport significantly adds to the prestige and reputation of the airport’s operations, and provides an important source of revenue for the airport’s operations and development.

It is absolute rubbish for your newspaper to report that an aircraft operator is being denied land in favour of Exxon. The Exxon headquarters are being built on non-airside land leased commercially in accordance with the Airport’s Lease Agreement with the government for the Management and Development of the Airport, as distinct from airside land leased for aircraft operations, that is, land subject to restricted access for aircraft operations.

There are no existing aircraft operator land use applications which in any way compete with Exxon Mobil’s access to land for the construction of its office headquarters. Of the roughly 408 acres of land leased to Ogle Airport Inc. (OAI) for the development of an International Airport, in fact, only 38%, that is, some 150 acres, is suitable for actual development, 60 acres of which is dedicated to airside development.

The Airport has recently written to all current and potential airside operators inviting qualified Expressions of Interest for airside property. On receipt of Expressions of Interest, interested operators will be required to complete a formal application to be processed in accordance with the Airport’s Land Use Policy, and will be treated on a “first come first serve basis” on the date of completion of the application, submission of designed plans and projected start-up construction date.

Ogle Airport Inc. wishes to point out that prospective users of airside land must be able to meet internationally established standards and best practices demanded of operators at all international airports and which are compliant with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Ogle Airport Inc. has observed that the unfounded allegations being published in Kaieteur News replicate much of those already the subject of lawsuits before the Courts. Ogle Airport Inc. is proud of the fact that it is, today, since its development over the past decade, already successfully serving the movement of just under 100,000 generally satisfied passengers per year, including over 40,000 international passengers, and moving roughly 17 million lbs of cargo to domestic and international destinations.

Regards
Kit Nascimento
Public Relations Consultant