Government has signed a new contract to add two more air bridges to the existing four at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
The new US$2,038, 000 contract was signed between Total Solutions and the Ministry of Public Works.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill explained that China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) as part of their new contractual agreement will have to construct the corridors and other infrastructure to facilitate the installation of the bridges.
The Ministry of Public Works in a statement had said that the new work will involve an extension of the airport’s boarding corridor in order to accommodate the two new bridges, enhancing the airport’s capability to service aircraft such as the Boeing 777, the Dreamliner, AirBus and other trans-Atlantic aircraft. Edghill said while he would like to see the bridges completed and installed by year end, the difficulties of shipping across the world might make the timeline impossible to meet. This adds to the already existing difficulties of completing the controversy-ridden project that began in January 2013 after a secret 2011 deal in Jamaica. The project has now straddled three governments including five years under the former APNU+AFC administration.
In December 2020, the PPP/C government and CHEC announced that they had reached an agreement on the CJIA expansion project for additional works. In the agreement CHEC will stand the cost of the extra works. The expanded works are to be completed by December 31st, 2021. The deal appeared to be a significant win for the government, which had warned of legal action against CHEC if it didn’t remedy certain defects by December 31st last year. President Irfaan Ali had also visited the US$150 million project in September last year and had expressed dissatisfaction at its state. The terminal building is being extended to provide accommodation for additional commercial space such as food courts and duty-free shops. The extended building will feature a modern airport façade covering the full length of the Departure Terminal. There had been fruitless discussions between the two sides over the quantum of new work in the project and if it had been delivered by CHEC. Edghill had argued that the 2011 contract stipulated a brand new building not a refurbished one.
During the 2021 budget presentation, Minister of Finance Ashni Singh said $2.5 billion will be funneled into the construction of CJIA. Singh said the sum will be spent on the procurement of two additional passenger boarding bridges to accommodate large transatlantic aircraft, bringing the total to six boarding bridges at the airport. It will also be used to fund the rehabilitation of the airline and airport administration offices, and the outfitting of the commercial complex of the airport.
