By Rehana Ahamad
THE Government of Guyana seems to be taking no chances as it relates to the realisation of the much-delayed Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) modernisation project.
On Friday last, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, met with officials of the contracted firm, China Harbour Engineering Consultants (CHEC), to impose stricter short-term deadlines. Also part of the meeting was the Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, Ramesh Ghir.

During the engagement, the company was asked to prepare and submit a Resource Allocation Plan outlining how it intends to proceed with the project, in keeping with the latest timelines agreed to by both parties. The overall deadline for construction works was given as December 31, 2021.

During the recent meeting, CHEC agreed to furnish Minister Edghill with preliminary designs of outstanding aspects of the project, at least by January 31; these include the curtain walls, a corridor to facilitate the two new air bridges and a superstructure for the building at the front of the airport.

These designs are expected to reflect components of the original contract signed by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government, before it demitted office in 2015. When the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration assumed office that same year, several amendments were made to the project, much to the displeasure of the PPP/C which eventually returned to power in 2020.

Nonetheless, CHEC has committed to having the final designs for the project ready at least by March. “I will be following this project weekly,” Edghill told the CHEC team.

He was, at the time, highlighting several outstanding areas of concerns that were supposed to have been addressed by CHEC before the end of December 2020; the company was given a list of 71 ‘to-do’ items from the government.

“We have started the year with a deficit. About 21 items that were supposed to have been completed by December 31 were not completed…you are already outside of that timeline,” Edghill told the CHEC team.
In acknowledging the extensive scope of works, Edghill advised the team to start completing the tasks given, simultaneously.

“We know how the long the civil works have been taking you and we can’t have wishful thinking that if we start in October, we will finish by December 31. It is not going to happen and we are not going to tolerate it,” Minister Edghill asserted.

He warned that if “slippages” are found, the government will have to make the necessary intervention.
“The new things to be done as well as the old items to be fixed have to be done together…we cannot allow for last minute rush,” Edghill maintained.

Over the past nine years, more than US$150 million has already been exhausted on the CJIA expansion project which has encountered a plethora of other problems, many of which stem from the fact that the project was handled by three separate governments – the PPP/C’s Donald Ramotar administration, followed by the APNU+AFC administration, and finally, the PPP/C’s Irfaan Ali government.

CHEC had recently demanded more monies to complete the project, as per the new government’s specifications; however, after a series of consultations, the company agreed to finance some $1.8 billion in works, at no cost to the government or the people of Guyana.