Modern airport with restaurants, bar, shopping plazas needed – Edghill tells new Board

…says hotel in close proximity to CJIA needed

With the country expected to undergo massive economic transformation in the coming years, there is bound to be an influx of travellers to Guyana.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill posited that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) located at Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) must, therefore, be up to the task and be equally transformed.
According to him, the Airport must be “transformed into a hub for regional traffic connecting the Caribbean and South America”.

He made the charge on Tuesday to the new Board of Directors of the CJIA.
“We must make [CJIA] a preferred destination for stop-overs for the long haul which means, we just can’t provide boarding and disembarking. We have to provide the finest restaurants, we must be able to have executive lounges … we must be able to have adequate Internet connectivity,” Minister Edghill explained.
Additionally, the Public Works Minister said the Airport must boast services like car rentals, cellular phone rentals and even movie theatres.
Moreover, he said there must be more convenient car-parking services – whereby passengers who want to leave their vehicle behind for several days must be able to do so without any problems.
Furthermore, Minister Edghill called on the new CJIA Board to explore the possibility of establishing an airport hotel to provide added ease of travel.
“An airport hotel in close proximity connected to the hub, so people who have six-to-eight hours’ stopover or 14 hours’ stopovers … should be able to benefit from an airport hotel,” he explained, noting that such a facility would also benefit locals from far-flung regions who have to travel.
Meanwhile, Minister Edghill further highlighted that President Dr Irfaan Ali has made it clear that the country needed an airport with the original design of eight boarding bridges and that must be at the top of the new Board’s agenda.
According to Minister Edghill, this must be done because the Irfaan Ali Administration envisages Guyana being a tourist destination of choice and developing capacity for hosting conventions.
As it relates to security, Minister Edghill urged the Board of Directors to ensure that at no time the VIP lounge or even the ordinary check-in lounge would be used as an avenue to traffic illicit drugs.
The new Chairman of the Board is Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin. The other Board Members are David A Ramdeholl, Sean Richmond, Amarnauth Dukhi, Savitree Sharma, and Daun Ellis.
The CJIA has been without a board for approximately two months and the newly-appointed Directors are optimistic that they would service the sector with efficiency, reliability, and zest to carry the Airport to a place where travellers would enjoy.
Minister Edghill said he was confident that the Board, with its wealth of experience and knowledge, would effectively and efficiently execute its mandate.
“We have multiculturalism and with clear strategic objectives to ensure that we get citizens of the highest quality to give national service to ensure good governance takes place in Guyana,” he said. (G11)