Signs of corrosion on the Passenger Boarding Bridges at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) led to the suspension of their use, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson said yesterday.
Patterson was questioned on the matter at a press conference held at the Alliance For Change (AFC) headquarters and he said that rusting was observed on the bridges and this forced them to cease use of the structures temporarily. He said that Chinese engineering firm, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which has been contracted to carry out expansion works at the CJIA, in the renewal warranty application informed them of the rusting.
“…[The] warranty has to be renewed and one of the claims…made in [the] warranty [application] is that now that we [are having] warmer weather, there is some rotting under the air bridges and we decided we should put a quick fix to it,” the minister said yesterday when asked the reason behind the suspension.
“When you go on the concrete, you will see a track and any movement could be disastrous. What we have done is to stabilise two of the bridges and the other two will begin shortly,” Patterson added.
He did not provide a timeframe within which the works are expected to be completed.
The notice of the suspension of the use of the air bridges was made by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure last week. It said that the scheduled suspension is required to facilitate the execution of other works of the Airport Expansion Project. The release did not state what the extent of the work is. The air bridges were made operational last year.
