Introduction
In July last year under the caption ‘No such thing as a free chow mein’ I wrote critically of the process leading up to the decision to undertake a proposed expansion project at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Let us recall that the Minister of Public Works and Communication Robeson Benn had explained that “we [meaning the government] had to enter into an agreement because we had a very narrow window in September where a Chinese Vice Premier came to the Caribbean with several billion dollars to fund projects and it was the only opportunity we had then to fund this undertaking.” What follows in this column shows how dangerously absurd it was to make such a multi-million US dollar contract for an even more absurdly outlandish project. Because of the substantial expenditure to which the Government of Guyana is committing the taxpayers of this country, I will begin by outlining the provisions of the contract for the extension of Cheddi Jagan International Airport and will follow this up with a review of the government Concessional Loan Agreement signed between the Government of Guyana and Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM).
Pre-Budget construction contract
This contract between the Ministry of Public Works and Communications and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd of Beijing China (CHEC) was signed on November 11, 2011, that is seventeen days before general elections. Signing on behalf of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications was its Permanent Secretary Mr Balraj Balram. The contract price is US$138,000,000. But that price “excludes all taxes, duties, royalties and fees of
