The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) yesterday said that on Friday the washrooms at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport were under procedural sanitation for the Domestic Cold Water pipelines system and were therefore closed for around six hours.
The ministry statement appeared to be a response to a news item in yesterday’s edition of Kaieteur News but did not refer to it.
MPI said that following Specification/Contract requirements, under the supervision of the Airport Expansion Project Consultants (MMM/CEMCO Inc.) and in conjunction with Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), and China Harbour Engineering (CHEC) the sanitation/disinfection of the Domestic Cold Water (DWC) piping system installed in the Terminal Building was undertaken.
This process started weeks ago with the submission of the proposed methodology by the Contractor to the Consultants and GWI. The statement said that the methodology was reviewed and accepted. Following the requirements set forth, the Airport Corporation made available a window period of six hours (from 16:00 to 22:00) on Friday, November 22, 2019 to carry out the process. Earlier, two trial procedures were undertaken on Saturday, November 9 & Thursday, November 21 respectively, in order to go through the various testing steps, as well as to identify any shortfalls and to plan for unforeseen circumstances.
The statement said that during this low use window period, temporary washroom facilities were made available for the travelling public especially persons with disabilities in both the Arrivals and Departures Terminal Buildings. Temporary signage was also installed at all Public areas for guidance whilst personnel were placed at strategic locations to guide persons and ensured a smooth process.
MPI noted that all newly constructed or repaired water systems, finished water storage facilities or wells serving a public water system must be disinfected/sanitized after the construction process by methods accepted to the Guyana Water Inc and in accordance with international standards.
As the local governing body, GWI were engaged from the start and played an integral part in the review of the proposed disinfection methodology submitted by CHEC. They also played a vital role in monitoring the quality of the water before, during and after the disinfection process which was successfully completed on the aforementioned dates.
“The Ministry of Public Infrastructure wishes to thank the general public for their continued support and cooperation”, the statement added.
