Minister of Works Robeson Benn says that Government sees no reason why China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) should not go ahead to execute the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion since the issue over which its parent company was sanctioned had nothing to do with CHEC per se.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Benn said, “We have reviewed the situation and we find no reason to stop the project.” He said that persons who are using the media to attack the project should provide evidence to back up their claims of corruption by the company.
Further, CHEC has responded to a letter by A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Joseph Harmon who had chided the company for not consulting with the Opposition on the project during their visit about one week ago.
The letter from CHEC stated that the company “recognises the important role of the Opposition and stands committed to engage its members on this project and on any other endeavours we may pursue in Guyana.”
The letter was signed by CHEC’s Regional Director for the Americas Zhongdong Tang. He said that the specific purpose of the visit was to meet with the Ministry of Works to provide a brief on the issues that have been published in the media in recent weeks. “Given the issues under discussion we were obliged to urgently answer all questions [asked] by the Government with a view to advancing the project,” Zhongdong said in the letter.
“In the short visit we also met with members of the private sector and held a press conference to publicly answer questions about our company. We regret we were unable to meet with the parliamentary opposition in Guyana and apologise for this omission,” said Zhongdong.
Harmon in his letter to CHEC said that a full engagement with the Opposition would have ensured a better understanding of the project that could have “conditioned our support for it.” Harmon said that a major opportunity to engage had been missed by the company.
CHEC is one of the 40-odd subsidiaries of China Communications and Construction Company (CCCC) which had been slapped with the World Bank debarment sanction from 2009 to 2017. The airport project includes an extension of the runway to a total of 10,800 feet to accommodate large transatlantic aircraft, along with construction of a new terminal building, acquisition of eight boarding bridges, and installation of other state-of-the-art equipment.
