Noting that the APNU+AFC administration spent less than US$2 million for two air bridges for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson is questioning what led to an almost 20% increase for the new air bridges being procured.
Last week, the Ministry of Public Works, China Harbour and Engineering Corporation and Total Solutions Inc, a local company signed a contract for the supply, delivery, and installation for two air bridges.
The cost of the air bridges caught the attention of Patterson, leading him to question the increase, since according to him, the PPP/C government is spending an additional US$350,000 for the new air bridges.
In a Facebook post, he stated that there is no justification offered by government for the additional sum. In 2018, with cabinet documents to support him, the now opposition member said that the APNU+AFC administration paid the contractor US$1.65 million for two air bridges.
However, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill last week explained that with the rising cost of materials and shipping globally, it is obvious that the cost will be increased. Edghill pointed out that the US$2 million does not only cover cost of the bridges, but also associated costs such as logistics and shipping.
“A cost for something three years ago cannot be the same today. Shipping has gone up, the price of steel has gone up…Materials have increased,” Edghill argued.
The minister further rapped Patterson by stating that while he (Patterson) is boasting of a low cost bridges, millions had to be spent to have them operationalised after installation.
“He is defending the low cost of the air bridges they purchased but they are bridges that were limping along and money had to be spent to get it operational…” Edghill countered.
In a Facebook post, Patterson said “…the new air bridges are for larger code D & E size aircraft – these are the wide-bodied aircraft used for transatlantic flights. But guess what… the air bridges installed in 2018 are for these same types of aircraft as well.”
Responding to Patterson’s post, Edghill pointed out that those previously installed air bridges proved to be inadequate for the D&E sized aircraft because although the planes might have been able to access the bridges, there was not enough space to manoeuvre and park. Therefore to mitigate this shortcoming, additional space has to be created for the construction of a large enough apron to facilitate parking for the Code D&E aircraft.
“These new air bridges that are being constructed are being built to be accommodated on adjoining corridors. The contractor and the suppliers will be working together to ensure whatever is constructed can fit the environment and match the specifications for Code D&E airplanes,” Edghill explained further.
Stabroek News had last week reported Edghill as saying that during sourcing they were directed to Total Solutions by China International Marine Containers (CIMC), a supplier of air bridges across the world. The Minister added that the company awarded the contract will be responsible “for after-sale services and all the things required to keep the airport and air bridges functional.”
He explained that this route was taken since the four bridges supplied via the contractor under the APNU+AFC government were of poor quality as they deteriorated before providing any kind of service and had become non-functional.
Edghill had also opined that the opposition member was seeking to make “a big issue” over the signing of the contracts for the two additional air bridges.
“We paid US$150 million in the agreement, we were expecting to have eight air-bridges. When APNU+AFC went into office and remodelled the contract and reduced the scope, we ended up with four air bridges. Two were paid for by China Harbour, and they came back to Parliament for a supplementary to pay for the additional two. So apart from that, they increased the contract amount by over $300 million for the additional air-bridges. So, we had to approve that in Parliament. The excuse they gave at the time is that the contract did not provide for air bridges,” the Minister said.
According to him, as a government, they have to provide the two bridges to equip the airport with six air bridges.
“I don’t know where they [APNU+AFC] got the impression that China Harbour was supposed to provide the air bridges. There was never any confusion in our mind. APNU+AFC agreed that any additional air bridges besides the two that China Harbour put in would have to be paid for by the Government of Guyana,” Edghill said as he noted that at the presentation of the 2021 budget, government announced that it was spending an additional $2.5 billion on the CJIA Expansion Project. Edghill posited that had the opposition exercised civil behaviour during the budget debates earlier this year, all questions would have been answered.
CHEC, as part of its new contractual agreement, will have to construct the corridors and other infrastructure to facilitate the installation of the bridges. The two new bridges are expected to enhance the airport’s capability to service larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, the Dreamliner, AirBus, and other trans-Atlantic aircraft.
Last December, the PPP/C government and CHEC announced that they had reached an agreement on the project for additional works estimated to cost US$9 million. The agreement stated that CHEC will stand the cost of the additional works. The deal appeared to be a significant win for the government, which had warned of legal action against CHEC if the defects highlighted were not remedied.
