The sod was turned yesterday for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri expansion project by President Donald Ramotar and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana Zhang Limin.
The expansion is to be done by China Harbour Engineering Company at a cost of US$138 million.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted CJIA Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Ghir as saying that at present there are two major airlines interested in Guyana that are unable to fly here because of the present length of the runway.
GINA said Ghir lamented that the runway in its current state is “causing us to lose business while others are forging ahead.” The expansion project will see Guyana’s main port boasting a runway to a total of 10,800 feet to accommodate large transatlantic aircraft, a new terminal building, eight boarding bridges, elevators, escalators, three dimensional x-ray scanners, flight information and security monitoring systems.
It has however attracted criticism over the manner in which the deal was concluded and the wisdom of an expansion of that scale.
