CJIA upgrade a necessity

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

Airports are always important in all developing countries like ours, for instance.

This is necessary because of the number of flights, coming and going, on a weekly basis. This has forced the authorities more and more into encouraging new airlines to service our main routes.

But while it is good to have more airlines and increased flights in and out of Guyana, it is also necessary for us to have adequate facilities for take-off and touch-down purposes.

This kind of activity calls for proper terminals and extension of runways, for instance. These works are very important if we want to encourage more airlines to come to our country, which for some time now has been set on an economic take-off.

But to have bigger airlines etc, we have to provide larger runways and take-off pads. I recall that not so long ago, a Caribbean airline jet, with more than 200 passengers on board, crashed on landing because it ran off the landing strip at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Although it was not an air disaster as such, and no one died, some persons were seriously injured in the rush to disembark as the airline broke in two.

The good news is that the Guyana government has signed a US$ 138 million contract to upgrade the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. The project is expected to include an extension of the runway to a total of 10,800 feet to accommodate large transatlantic aircrafts, such as the Boeing 747.

There will also be the construction of a new terminal building, among other things. This is good news that would only serve to lead to further development of the country.

Yours sincerely,

Sugrim Singh

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