The sod was turned yesterday for the construction of a $1.2 billion permanent headquarters for the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and China has been hinted as a possible source of funding for the project.
Speaking at the sod turning, Director General of the GCAA Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d) Egbert Field said that the agency is looking to commence construction before yearend. The aviation regulator has over the years been forced to move to different locations to execute its mandate.
The new headquarters, which is anticipated to be an energy efficient building, will utilise wind and solar energy and will be constructed on 10 acres of land at Stadium Road, Providence, East Bank Demerara. The planned four-storey edifice would be capable of housing more facilities than the current building, with adequate parking space. A section of the GCAA’s training school is also to be located on the premises. The estimated cost is pegged at $1.2 billion dollars and the duration of the construction is expected to last between a year and 18 months.
Sharing brief remarks, Minister of Public Infra-structure David Patterson said that the sod turning and the vision to construct a state-of-the-art facility to house the aviation regulator is timely. He said that the construction of the new headquarters comes at a time when the country’s aviation sector is set to expand like has never been seen in Guyana. “There’s no better way to prepare [than] by constructing a state-of-the-art building that will be built with specification and technology and advanced features,” the minister said.
He added that in addition, the sod turning for the headquarters of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), which also falls under the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, marks the commencement of a new era for the country. The two agencies will be asked to do things that they have never done before, he said, as he explained that the discovery of oil will require more work to meet the needs of the new industry.
“The same personnel that had been looking at the fixed wing sector, the same agency will have to now get themselves geared up to be an administrative agency; the same goes to for MARAD,” he said, revealing that the ministry have had to hire help from Ghana to do a particular inspection because it was not on their radar. He said that they have been moving at an unprecedented pace.
Patterson highlighted that within the last three years, the aviation sector has seen changes in air activities. In 2015, when the APNU+AFC government assumed office, there were only two helicopter operations in the country but within the last three years, these have grown significantly, with 13 such aircraft currently operating and by the end of this year, at least 20 helicopters are expected to be operating.
“…Based on the application I’ve seen, by the end of 2020, we’re going to have about 30 and about 75 by 2025,” the minister said.
He pointed out that the aviation sector has been setting itself up to handle the future and with the legislation recently updated, Guyana is said to be ahead of other CARICOM nations.
“Even after being in gestation for over a year, we were challenged with lawsuits, with people saying how it was unconstitutional. But we sent it to ICAO [the International Civil Aviation Organization] and asked for a review and they responded we have the most modern piece of legislation in the Caribbean,” he said.
He added that there are still minor issues to be addressed such as aviation accidents.
According to the minister, the vision of the GCAA is to keep a record of zero fatalities in the aviation sector.
“…one accident fatality is more than enough. We have to also…ensure that we have enough monitoring in the aviation sector…,” he added.
Field, meanwhile, in his address, spoke of the GCAA’s achievements over the years, which, he said have been many, resulting in Guyana being considered a leader in the regional aviation sector.
“In the past three years, we were able to put in place a brand new Civil Aviation Act. In terms of our security, when TSA (the US Transportation Security Administration) came last year on two occasions, between the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Eugene F Correia International Airport and they did their inspection, [they] could not find a single item to fault Guyana on. In-house, our personalised licensing system is now computerised and we have established a Drones Unit with inspectors to deal with drones. Our inspectors were sent on massive training programmes and we noticed accidents have decreased tremendously. Our aim is to have zero accidents and incidents,” the GCAA head said.
He added that they have requested an early compliance audit from ICAO, which is expected to be done in January. He said that in the last audit, the GCAA’s compliance with aviation regulations moved from 44 per cent to 64.5 per cent and presently, he believes they are in the 80 per cent range.
Touching on the construction of the new headquarters, Field said it is a landmark achievement for his agency since it allows them to move into the future and provides a comfortable working environment for staff.
The future “fantastic” office will boast facilities such as a nursery, a gymnasium, a cafeteria and proper offices for inspectors and all the GCAA’s various departments, he said.
Field revealed that they are currently in the procuring process and will first commence construction of the perimeter fence and bridges. He said that they are looking to commence construction by the end of this year and while he is unsure of where the remainder of the capital will be coming from, he remains optimistic.
He added that they are in talks with several agencies and hinted, like other speakers at the event, at sourcing funds from China.
Among the attendees were China’s ambassador to Guyana Cui Jianchun, Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure Jaipaul Sharma, and Minister of Communities with responsibility for housing Annette Ferguson, along with the Chairman of the GCAA’s Board of Directors Lawrence London and others.
In 2013, then President Donald Ramotar and then Minister of Transport Robeson Benn and Head of the GCAA at the time, Zulfikar Mohamed, had turned the sod for a proposed new GCAA headquarters at Ogle. However, plans did not move ahead.
The GCAA has been housed at various locations over the years, including Wight’s Lane in Kingston, Prashad Nagar, Colgrain House, and on Duke Street, Kingston. It is currently located at High Street, Kingston.
