Int’l flights for Ogle Airport in August

Jun 13, 2008 News

– Fire tender from Korea handed over to facility

The donation of a fire tender by the Korean Government through the CARICOM Secretariat, to the Ogle Airport, has moved the entity closer to international certification.

In fact, according to Chief Executive Officer and Project Coordinator of the Ogle Airport Incorporated, Captain Anthony Meckdeci, the facility should meet international standards by August, in time for CARIFESTA.
“The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority is attempting to get us certification for CARIFESTA. The Fire Service is only one aspect; you have security, you have air site safety, other controls and other procedures that have to be put in place,” Meckdeci said.
The idea of a fire truck for the Ogle Airport was first broached by CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington 18 months ago.
The Secretary-General said that the role the fire tender will play in equipping the Ogle Airport is what prompted him to ask the Korean Government to facilitate same when discussions were brought up about the assistance needed by the CARICOM Secretariat.
“I, immediately, thinking of Ogle, and having been advised that one of my staff members represented his country in a bilateral with the Koreans and one of the things they got were some excellent fire trucks… I immediately said, can I have a red, not just any colour, a red fire truck,” Carrington said.
According to Carrington, the manifestation of the fire truck is testimony to the excellent relations between CARICOM and the people of Korea and in some ways the European Union, the Government of Guyana and the Ogle Airport Incorporated.

This, he said, is clear evidence that cooperation can be a win-win situation, pointing out that CARICOM’s relations with the government and people of Korea has been an excellent example of cooperation.
Over the past years, the Korean Government has lent its support to CARICOM in the field of transportation and information, and communication technology.
He stated that yesterday’s donation of the fire tender is of great significance since it seeks to enhance the air travel within the region with a critical contribution to the infrastructure of the Ogle Airport.
“This airport, situated as it is no more than seven minutes’ drive, if so much, from the CARICOM Headquarters and the Guyana International Conference Centre, and permitting flights of an hour or so from major CARICOM capitals of the southern Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Paramaribo, and from Caracas among others is of unique importance to the integration process,” the CARICOM Secretary-General said.
Specifically, he noted, the Ogle Airport can serve to enhance the integration process of the Caribbean Community as well as to assist in the strengthening of relations between CARICOM and Latin America and in the process help to make Guyana the conference centre of the region.
He noted that the Ogle Airport is of particular and perhaps personal interest for the officials of the CARICOM Secretariat, since it can also facilitate the regular goings and comings of officials from the headquarters to the various member states.
“This red fire truck represents a critical cog in the wheel of regional and hemispheric cooperation. And certainly, it is much more than the Secretary-General catching up on a toy that he may have missed as some of my staff have been thinking; it is much more than that,” Carrington said to spontaneous laughter among the audience at the brief and simple ceremony.
He said that the Korean Government accommodated all the specifications which the Government of Guyana and the Ogle Airport management would require in a fire-fighting vehicle for the facility.
Experts were also dispatched to Guyana to train locals in the operations and maintenance of the fire tender.
Carrington said that the vehicle is not the only evidence of interest by CARICOM in the development of the Ogle Airport.
He said that in light of its importance to the region, the secretariat sought and obtained from the European Union financial resources to the tune of €1.5M to assist in the extension of the runway, and related safety and security features for the airport.
“Against the background, you will understand therefore why for us the Ogle Airport is truly an embodiment of cooperation not only between the Government of Guyana and the Ogle Airport Incorporated but also CARICOM, the EU and Korea,” Carrington said.
The keys to the fire tender were handed over to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee who praised the Secretary-General for his futuristic approach to regional integration.
“When I heard that the secretariat had arranged for this truck to be gifted and that it was to be positioned at Ogle Airport, one could not but help recognizing that it was indeed vision and there was indeed futuristic thinking in a gesture of this nature,” Rohee said.
He added that the Ogle Airport Incorporated is slowly but surely building capacity in all the areas that necessitate its rising to standards that will make it a municipal airport similar to any other airport of its type that exists in other member states of CARICOM.
Following the handing over of the keys, the audience was treated to a demonstration of the fire tender in operation.
Acting Deputy Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle explained that the new piece of equipment could also function in areas outside of the airport and should supplement the fire-fighting capabilities of the Fire Service on the East Coast of Demerara.