The announcement earlier this week that government is to spend more than $150 million to rehabilitate two key interior airstrips has been described by one of the country’s leading aviators as “a step in the right direction” for the country’s aviation sector.
Asked by this newspaper earlier this week to comment on the disclosure that interior airstrips at Eteringbang in the Cuyuni/ Mazaruni area and Mahdia in the Potaro/Siparuni are set for major rehabilitation, veteran aviator and Chief Executive Officer of Roraima Airways Gerry Gouveia said that he believed that the move to upgrade the two airstrips “must mark the start of an ongoing effort to create a more aviation-friendly interior. Any country like ours in which development is largely dependent on accessing communities and resources must rely on high-quality aviation infrastructure. The government must be given credit for moving in this direction,” Gouveia added.
The Government of Guyana in a recent public notice says it is allowing bidders for the completion of the rehabilitation works up to Tuesday September 15 to submit bids for the project to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) for opening on Tuesday October 7.
Gouveia told Stabroek Business that he believed that the time frame set out in the public notice was an indication that government is seeking “to move quickly” with the rehabilitation of the two airstrips.
And addressing the issue of the broader nexus between the rehabilitation of the country’s airstrips and strengthening of the economy Gouveia told Stabroek Business that “If you understand the country’s mining sector and you know the interior well you will immediately recognize that a focus on refurbishing airstrips is good for the mining sector.”
While the local aviation sector has, for years, lobbied government to restore interior airstrips and otherwise move to upgrade the local aviation infrastructure, the refurbishment of airstrips will be seen as a signal that government wants to be seen as moving in the direction of creating a more convivial environment for local and foreign investment in hinterland regions of the country.
Gouveia noted that economic activity in the gold-mining sector particularly has seen a significant increase in both the volume and frequency of movement of people and cargo into the interior. “Of course, enhanced interior aviation infrastructure will better position the government to discharge its responsibilities to the pockets of population in the remote regions of Guyana.”
Meanwhile, Gouveia told Stabroek Business that airstrip rehabilitation “is critical to enhancing overall aviation safety” as well as ensuring the longer serviceability of aircraft. “It is true that on the whole the skill and experience of our pilots have been critical factors in minimizing aviation accidents. At the same time, however, developments like the upgrading of airstrips are important to providing ever better safety guarantees.”
And according to Gouveia the rehabilitation of interior airstrips should also be seen in the context of “a continuing effort to make visitor destinations in the interior regions of the country more accessible” to both locals and visitors to the country.
