NCN tower had to be moved to facilitate airport expansion – official confirms

Pradoville 2

The removal of the National Communications Network (NCN) transmission tower from Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara, was done in order to facilitate the expansion of the then Ogle Airport and not the development of the Pradoville 2 housing area, which is currently under investigation by the Special Organised Crime Unity (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.

This was confirmed by Public Communications Consultant of the Eugene F Correia International Airport, Kit Nascimento, who told Guyana Times that the NCN antenna tower at Sparendaam penetrated the Obstacle Clearance Limitations (OCL) for operations of the extended runway as part of the development of what was then Ogle Airport, now renamed the Eugene F Correia

International Airport.

“Ogle Airport Inc [OAI], therefore, communicated this fact to the Government for the removal of the tower since 2004, in accordance with the company’s Lease Agreement for the development of the Airport. The tower was removed from Sparendaam in 2010 and OAI was then in a position to proceed with its Airport Expansion Project,” Nascimento told this newspaper on Friday.

The issue of the tower, which has since been relocated to La Parfaite Harmonie, on the West Bank of Demerara, came up for scrutiny during the ongoing probe of the exclusive housing scheme. Over the last few days, SOCU has arrested and detained several former prominent Government officials under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) regime, including former President and now Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo; former Prime Minister and President Samuel Hinds; former Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon; and former Ministers Priya Manickchand; Irfaan Ali; Clement Rohee; and Jennifer Westford, among others in connection to their role in the Pradoville 2 scheme.

In fact, after meeting with SOCU officials at the Camp Road Headquarters on Wednesday, former Prime Minister Hinds told reporters that he was questioned about the transmission tower that was located from Sparendaam. At the time, he

was Prime Minister with responsibility for the aviation sector.

Hinds had explained that talks of the removal of the transmission tower begun in 2004, some seven years before it was actually relocated to allow for the Airport’s expansion. He noted that there are documents to support this. Moreover, the former Prime Minister pointed out that after going into to office back in 1992, the PPP/C Administration was challenged by the Correia’s who opened a hangar at the then Ogle Airport, claiming that enough was not being done for the private aircraft industry.

From this, Hinds added, discussions started for the Airport expansion into a municipal and regional airport, for which the tower had to be removed.

While this is the contention of both the Airport authorities and the former Administration, the recent forensic audit into the operations of Government holding company – the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) indicate otherwise.

According to the report, “the removal and relocation of the NCN transmission tower were done to facilitate the housing development of the (Sparendaam) area.” The document went on to highlight that State funds amounting to $257 million were expended on the development of the Sparendaam housing project (Pradoville 2).

However, NICIL had maintained during the audit that the relocation was done for expansion of the Airport, but the auditor outlined in the report that there was no reference to the tower being in the flight path of aircraft operating out of Ogle Airport in any of NICIL’s Board minutes or in any of the Cabinet’s decisions in relation to the Sparendaam Project.Moreover, the report detailed that NCN had even made representation for the relocation of the tower for improved transmission. According to the auditor, Anand Goolsarran, “it is also not clear to whom NCN made representation for the relocation of the tower since the established procedure is for NCN to request funding via the National Budget to undertake any capital works.”