Dear Editor,
Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn stated recently that after taking all options into consideration he considered the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) the most feasible option available to upgrade and provide a modern airport for Guyana.
Having regard to the enormous investment already made it may well be that CJIA is the least costly option to modernize the existing international airport to provide adequate and efficient service over the long term. However, an investment of over US$150M to achieve this objective cannot be justified on the whims and fancies of the Minister of Transport, who claimed that he negotiated the contract to design and build the facilities to upgrade the airport with the help of his engineers. In the first instance a feasibility study should have been carried out to determine the economic and financial viability to upgrade CJIA to meet the existing and future needs of passengers and the movement of goods and services by air. The study would have projected the revenue to be generated to cover the costs for operating and maintaining the buildings and infra-structure and pay for all outstanding debt service, so as not to have the government provide subsidies and/or increase service charges when there is a drop in revenue as is the case with GuySuCo and GPL. This is a complex project and the Ministry of Transport does not have the necessary expertise to decide as to why and how the facilities should be upgraded to meet the current and future needs of air transportation in Guyana. Therefore a feasibility study should have been carried out in the first instance, and if the project was found to be viable a firm experienced in airport design should have been appointed to prepare the drawings and specifications. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) could then have been invited to bid to construct the facilities.
In support of the CJIA expansion, Minister Benn claims that traffic congestion has been an issue affecting passengers. I make several trips overseas every year, particularly during the holidays, and I have never experienced the sort of congestion at Timehri as I have had at Miami, New York, London and elsewhere.
Yet these international airports have no major willy-nilly plans for major expansion but tinker with existing facilities to make them more efficient. Therefore with some improvements here and there such as runaway extension, CJIA can comfortably handle existing and projected traffic throughput with a modest financial outlay, as Guyana is the third poorest country in the Americas and its population growth to increase air travel significantly is not expected to be spectacular during the next several decades.
Ogle will be an excellent site for the international airport, because of its proximity to the populated coastal areas, but it is not a viable option because of high construction costs and environmental concerns such as untenable noise levels and traffic congestion. The fact that Ogle is below sea level compared to Timehri is not a serious technical concern, since many airports in Holland and elsewhere operate successfully on land well below sea level. Nevertheless flooding of the facilities due to heavy rainfall and inoperable sluices and pumps may pose problems. Consideration should however be given to extending the existing runaway to cater for jets with 50 or less passengers capacity.
Finally, according to Minister Benn, the Government of Guyana negotiated the contract to design and build CJIA expansion with CHEC without competitive bidding since CHEC is providing the finance.
He claims that his ministry reviewed the drawings and specifications and found them adequate to meet the needs of Guyanese. Having regard to Minister Benn’s track record of poor performance with respect to the design and construction of the Parika and Good Hope Stellings, the revetment at Kumaka, the Amaila Falls access road, poor river transportation to the North West District, Bartica and the Essequibo Coast, the ECD road expansion and the fostering of illegality by permitting the Celina Atlantic Resort to build a permanent structure on the sea defence reserve at Kitty, it is no wonder that Guyanese are sceptical and apprehensive of Minister Benn’s ability to undertake the construction of yet another major project, particularly one whose finance is still under negotiation.
Yours faithfully,
Charles Sohan
