June is new deadline for completion of arrival building – Patterson

The new arrival building located on the south-western section of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is expected to be completed in June.
This was according to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, who, on Monday, during a local radio programme said that the project was almost 80 per cent completed and had some two months more before completion.
This announcement comes on the heels of complaints being made by passengers entering the country about overcrowding and congestion in the arrival area.
In order to facilitate the ongoing expansion project, the immigration and security operations were shifted to the former Greeters Hall.

After the mandatory security checks, passengers would then proceed along another corridor to the Departure Lounge area to await boarding.
The expansion project is geared at addressing four critical areas: insufficient public parking; overcrowding within the terminal; conflicts of parking aircraft while at the same time permitting larger aircraft on the international apron and a safety area in the event of an aircraft overshooting the runway.
The project is expected to result in two air passenger boarding bridges for passengers’ arrival and departure; a 450-person departure seating area and escalators and elevators, in addition to the extended runway that would cater for categories of larger aircraft.
The Minister further noted that the project was progressing smoothly and on schedule to the completion date, and this is a planned stage of the renovation works to accommodate construction while maintaining operations of the existing terminal.
In February last, President David Granger and his Cabinet were given a tour of the airport, and were updated on the progress of the works.
During a presentation on the project, it was revealed that some US$114 million has thus far been expended on the airport, while an additional US$27 million would be spent before the end of the year.
The airport expansion works are between 75 and 80 per cent completed. The Project’s Manager, Carmichael Thorne, during his presentation, stated that under the previous Administration, Guyana had secured a US$138 million loan from the China Export-Import (Exim) Bank to fund the expansion and modernisation project, for which the Guyana Government has injected some US$12 million.
However, when the coalition Government came in to power in 2015, the project was put on hold, but following discussions between the Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and the contracting company, China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), it was announced that the project would be continued, but with a reduction in its design and capacity.