THE financial performance of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, has increased over the past eleven years, raking in some $1.1B at the end of last year, as compared to the $257M collected back in 2002.
Meanwhile, the airport’s operating expenditure in 2002 was $144M, while the amount for 2012 was $553M, Chief Executive Officer of CJIA, Ramesh Ghir reported at a press conference

yesterday.
Ghir provided the update at the briefing that was called by Public Works Minister Robeson Benn at his office, Wight’s Lane, Kingston. The airport became a corporation in October 2001 and prepared its first financial statement in 2002.
On a yearly basis, Ghir reported that CJIA transfers funds to the Consolidated Fund and some $400M was transferred last year, with the amount in previous years being between $200 and $400M.
He observed that the airport has seen significant changes over the past years. “Maybe that’s one of the reasons we have an increased cost. We have several new concessions. When I first went to the airport, there was Banks and DDL, and duty free Guyana. Now we have Oasis Café, Roti Hut, King’s Jewellery.
Furthermore, there is now a Departure’s Executive Lounge, a pilot’s lounge which is had by very few countries in the region, and an Arrival’s Executive Longue.”
In terms of security, Ghir added, that the CJIA has basically surpassed what others have been doing in the region.
“In 2006, when we were first certified by the GCAA, there were only two countries in the region, Guyana and St. Maarten,that had such a certification, meaning that the airport is in compliance with all of the regulatory standards.”
Ghir said the CJIA is not into the profit making business but is there to provide a service as part of the larger service provided by government.“So we cannot change the fees as we feel like. Since 1984, we have not changed our landing fees. We do have a surplus though.”
As it relates to the issues surrounding the departure tax (same as Sales Tax, Goods and Service Tax, Airport Improvement Fee, Security fee), which in essence relates to the cost of using the facility, Ghir said, they have managed to confirm that with the exception of Jamaica, all the countries charge a tax.
“In the case of Suriname, there is an eight percent Goods and Service Tax. However, if you were to look at their facility charge, it’s in the vicinity of $35. In the case of Trinidad, they have a 15 percent tax that they call VAT; ours is travel voucher tax; Barbados also has VAT 17.5%; Antigua has a VAT of 10 % but they also have a high airport admin charge.”