Minister of Works Robeson Benn says government is to hold a series of meetings with a view to deciding how the Cheddi Jagan International Airport(CJIA) expansion will continue in the wake of the budget cuts of over $5 billion.
Speaking to Stabroek News last week, Benn said the meetings were warranted since it was unclear what the way forward for the project would be.
“We have to meet to see what we will do,” said Benn. “The contractor is on the ground,” he said.
During the consideration of the estimates, the opposition cut the entire sum allocated in 2013 for the expansion. The CJIA $5.35 billion expansion was cut from the budget estimates along with the rest of the Air Transport Programme budget, which included a $26.33 million final payment to the European Union for the Ogle Airport Aerodrome.
The opposition had made overtures that it was willing to consider the allocations provided that government made plans available for addressing a number of outstanding concerns such as the residents in the area, the Guyana Defence Board base and the Guyana Prison Service.
Opposition had debunked government’s assertions that taxpayers would be saddled with high interest because of the project not going ahead as per schedule.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall had said that the project would cost US$110,000 per day in overage charges for work not being done. Nandlall said contracts with foreign investors had serious punitive sanctions attached and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion was one of many.
According to the contract signed between the Ministry of Works and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), if the employer, in this case the Ministry of Works, fails to supply material for the project, the contractor shall be entitled to claim expense and time extension accordingly.
In April a number of business stakeholders at the airport made an appeal to the opposition for the restoration of the cuts to finance the project. They cited not only the fact that their businesses could suffer but that the fate of the country stood to be decided if the airport was not expanded. The affected stakeholders who appealed for the restoration of the money included Caribbean Airlines, Amerijet, Roraima Airways, various ground handling businesses and operators of restaurants and eateries at the airport.
Speaking to this newspaper Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CJIA Ramesh Dookhoo said that the design phase of the work which started in January is ongoing and will end in August this year.
Dookhoo said that after a press conference in April to speak out against the cuts, the board was able to give the Alliance for Change a compact disc with information about the project.
“They are now in a better position in terms of information. I made myself available to answer any question,” Dookhoo said.
Dookhoo believes that there needs to be a mechanism to provide documentation on critical and important projects to the members of the opposition. He said that it would be a shame for the project to be stalled at this stage and remains hopeful that funds would be restored.
