The consortium of local aircraft owners who hold a lease agreement with the Government of Guyana for the development of the Ogle Aerodrome has declined to comment on the possible reasons for the protracted delay in the release of funds provided by the European Development Fund (EDF) – and being administered by the Government of Guyana – for the second phase of the modernization of the facility.
Stabroek Business has learnt that the country’s largest public/private sector project has hit a hurdle arising out of differences between the OAI and the Government of Guyana and that the snag will significantly extend the original 18-month period for the completion of the second phase of the project.
More than a year after Ogle Airport Inc (OAI) the consortium responsible for the airport development project was notified that a 1.5m euros grant had been approved by the EDF under a Caribbean Integrated Support Project (CISP), tenders for the works contract for phase 11 of the project are yet to be launched by the Ministry of Finance.
Stabroek Business has been informed that the delay in launching the tenders is due to “differences” between the OAI and the Government of Guyana but OAI officials have declined to acknowledge that such “differences” exist.
When Stabroek Business sought a comment from General Manager of the consortium Anthony Mekdeci earlier this week, this newspaper was referred to a copy of a letter sent to the editor of the Stabroek News by Public Communications Consultants Ltd. and dated January 4, 2008.
The January 4 letter confirms that official notification of Consultants Ltd. and dated January 4, 2008.
The January 4 letter confirms that official notification of approval of the EDF grant was sent to the OAI since December 2006. The letter also states that the Minister of Finance had, by way of a letter dated March 8, 2007, to the Minister of Transport, indicated that government would launch the tenders “by the end of March 2007.”
The January 4 letter further states that the OAI is ready to supervise the execution of the contracts “as soon as the Ministry of Finance launches the tenders.”
Asked to comment on the likely reasons for the delay in launching the tenders both Mekdeci and Head of Public Communications Consultants Ltd, Kit Nascimento told Stabroek Business that the OAI was not prepared to make any comment on the matter beyond the contents of the letter.
However, a source close to one of the state agencies involved in the execution of the project told Stabroek Business that the delay in proceeding with the tenders for contracts for the second phase of the project may be due to the administration’s desire “to alter the conditions of the original lease agreement.” The source declined to comment further.
Earlier this week Nascimento confirmed in another section of the media that there had indeed been a delay in the disbursement by government of funds for the second phase of the airport project.
The first phase of the project which involved the construction of a new 800-metre Class 1A runway to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and construction of a terminal building to accommodate international passenger handling, and customs and immigration and security services was funded by the OAI and completed in March 2007.
Stabroek Business was informed by the OAI more than a year ago that the second phase of the project was scheduled for completion this year and an aviation industry official told this newspaper that the delay in the issuance of the tenders is likely to “push back” the completion of the deadline, “possibly by several months.”
Both government and the private have acknowledged the role that a modernized Ogle Aerodrome can play in enhancing the quality of service in the local aviation industry. When completed the Ogle facility will be fully equipped to receive Dash 8 series 300 Turbo Prop aircraft of the type currently being operated by LIAT and Caribbean Airlines and other similar airlines flying out of Venezuela and Suriname. Local aviation officials and airline administrators are upbeat over the prospects of intra-regional flights to Guyana that circumvent the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, saving passengers the lengthy road journey along the East Bank corridor. The use of the Ogle Airport by flights from the Caribbean is also expected to prove convenient to officials of the Caricom Secretariat and to users of the National Convention Centre, both of which are situated a few minutes drive from Ogle.
The OAI has also been upbeat about the prospects of a modernized Ogle Aeredrome for one-day transit flights from the Caribbean to tourist resorts in the interior as well as for improving domestic cargo and passenger services to the various interior locations.
During an interview with Stabroek Business earlier this week Mekdeci said the Ogle Airport project represented “a vision for the industry and a vision for Guyana” adding that private aviation companies that had invested in the project could not anticipate a return on their investment “for perhaps twenty or thirty years.”
