CJIA access road to be completed within first quarter

Chief Roads and Bridges Officer of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Ron Rahaman said the new three-kilometre access road leading to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) will be completed within the first quarter of 2017.

According to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), Rahaman made this disclosure while answering questions about the road before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday. He explained that to date, the project is 98 per cent complete. Rahaman said too that the removal of a Guyana Telephone Telegraph (GTT) utility pole at the Timehri Police Station has delayed the project.

“All the works except for this removal of the pole (belonging to GTT) and some minor pavements are expected to be done. The contractor completed all the rest of work in the last week of December 2016 to the first week in January,” Rahaman explained.

Rahaman noted that GTT has since given consent to remove the pole, but the contractor has to pay the company for the removal. “GTT sent an invoice with the amount to remove the pole and we have written the contractor last year to make the payment, however, the contractor has not paid yet, so we will be having a meeting to discuss further,” Rahaman said.

The Chief Roads and Bridges Officer indicated that a meeting will be held with the Permanent Secretary of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, Balraj Balram, and the contractor to have the issue resolved so that the project could see 100 percent completion within the first quarter, the release added. In 2011, a contract for the sum of US$3 million was signed for the work on the new access road.