The report cites the adoption of a sectoral policy for the aviation sub-sector, the infusion of regulatory and institutional reforms “and the introduction of private operation of the Ogle Aerodrome under government’s Air Transport Reform Intervention as key elements in the strategy to upgrade the quality of the local aviation sector. It singles out government’s granting of a 25-year lease to the Ogle Airport Inc a private sector aviation consortium, the enhancement of the capacity of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport through “in-country training courses provided by international experts,” the completion of key operational manuals including an airport security manual and the 2003 audit of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) by the International Civil Aviation Authority as being among “important benchmarks” achieved by the local aviation industry. The report notes that the GCAA is now moving towards self-sufficiency with state funding now being supplemented by air transport fees and taxes and that the authority is expected to be financially sustainable after its next fee increase.
During the 1990s government secured funding from bilateral sources for various enhancements in the aviation sub-sector including the rehabilitation and expansion of passenger processing spaces at the CJIA, runway upgrades and the development of alternative power. “These developments went a long way towards increasing the level of safety in the local environment,” the report said.
Links between the upgrading of the domestic aviation sector and the enhancement of several other key sectors of the Guyana economy have made the role of the privately-run Ogle Airport Inc a critical aspect of the overall development of the air transport industry. Assessments of the progress being made in the European Union-funded upgrading of airstrip facilities at Ogle have pointed to the role that an Ogle International Airport can play in receiving flights from the region as well as its value to enhancing the tourism industry and providing logistical support for the interior mining and forestry sectors.
Apart from the investment by local aviation companies in the development of the Ogle facility the report alludes to “a visible increase in private sector interest in the industry,” as evinced in the acquisition of additional aircraft.
The IDB report says that in the past the local aviation sector had relied entirely on one inefficient national carrier that had been unable to satisfy local demand and “was unable to attract and retain foreign carriers as a result of the restrictions of repatriating profits in foreign exchange. Another challenge existed in the Civil Aviation Department’s inability to effectively discharge its mandate because of weak capacity and inappropriate legislative framework and a disconnection with international rules, regulations and conventions,” the report says.
