China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) says it has secured a contract for a modern terminal for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, according to a report in yesterday’s Jamaica Observer.
The government made no announcement of the award prior to the report in the Jamaican newspaper, which said that the agreement was signed last Friday. A Government Information Agency (GINA) statement, issued yesterday, said that Cabinet has approved a US$138M design and construction contract with CHEC. Construction will commence early next year and is expected to take a total of 32 months, GINA noted.
According to the Observer report, the construction company said that as with the infrastructural projects that it is taking on in Jamaica, the China Exim Bank will fund the construction of the modern terminal building and the extension of the runway by 1,066 metres to reach a total of 3,336 metres at the airport. The report said that China Exim is providing the US$138 million in financing.
GINA, meanwhile, said that the runway extension would accommodate large transatlantic aircraft such as the Boeing 747, and in addition to the construction of a new terminal building, the project would also see acquisition of eight boarding bridges, and installation of other state of the art equipment such as elevators, escalators, and x-ray scanners using three-dimensional technology along with flight information and security monitoring systems. “Once completed, the project would ensure that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport is able to meet the needs of projected traffic for several years into the future, along with becoming a hub for regional and continental traffic,” it said.
The observer report said that the Chinese firm established its regional headquarters in Jamaica in April 2010, after signing an agreement with the Jamaican government in 2009 to be the general contractor under the Ministry of Transport and Works and the National Works Agency for two main projects — the Palisadoes Shoreline Protection and Rehabilitation Works and the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP).
The JDIP is a five-year, US$400- million island-wide public works programme funded by a loan of US$340 million secured by the Road Maintenance Fund from China Exim Bank at an interest rate of three per cent to be repaid over 20 years.
The report added that in September, the company won a contract with Mexico to construct phase one of the Manzanillo Container Terminal, two container berth coastlines and a 28.5 hectare container yard and then in October it announced that it had signed an agreement with the Bahamas to construct the Abaco Port and build a bridge that will link Little Abaco and North Abaco Islands. Also in October, it announced that after a few months of delay it expects it will begin construction of a cruise berthing facility in the Cayman Island capital, George Town.
