Air Services Limited constructs $25M terminal at Mahdia

Nov 10, 2009 News

Air Services Limited (ASL) is constructing a $25M terminal at the Mahdia airstrip as an upgrade of its services for people within Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni).

The terminal will consist of a large storage bond, a waiting area for passengers, washrooms, a hangar and other facilities.

This latest move is in keeping with the role of Air Services Limited as a transshipment point for goods from Mahdia into other areas of the hinterland, Ms Annette Arjoon, a Director of ASL, said.

She explained that persons living in Region Eight communities that are not accessible by road, usually transport their goods from the coastland by road to Mahdia, and then use ASL services from there to shuttle their goods into these inaccessible areas.

Ms Arjoon disclosed that people find it economical to so do. She added: “The idea behind the construction of the terminal at Mahdia is to upgrade our services to these customers.”

Ms Arjoon was however less sanguine when commenting on the state of the airstrips in some of these communities saying that many were cause for grave concern. She said: “ASL is the only aircraft company providing services in Regions Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) and Eight and I believe that no other service wants to go in there because of the poor state of some of these strips.”

“Some of the airstrips there are like scrubbing boards and these take a heavy toll on our aircraft.”

She welcomed news that rehabilitation of the airstrip at Mahdia, by Government, is to commence this week at a cost of $23.6 million.

It was disclosed last week that the rehabilitation entails raising the surface of the airstrip by adding four inches of laterite and also by placing two layers of bitumen on top of the laterite.

A 100 foot by 100 foot apron will also be constructed in order to provide safety for aircraft operations since there is no apron and it is hazardous to have parked planes close to the airstrip.

The upgrade of the airstrip should be completed by early December. Ms Arjoon said that for ASL this rehabilitation was a welcome development.

She however called on the authorities to note that there is no fence around the Mahdia airstrip.

“We are concerned about safety of operations. What happens if a cow or other large animal wanders onto the airstrip when a plane has started to take off or is about to land?” she asked.

She is urging the authorities in Region Eight to see the construction of a perimeter fence around the airstrip as an urgent priority given the implications of a collision between an animal and an aircraft. She is also asking for much more priority to be given to the care and maintenance of other airstrips in this Region and also in Region Seven.

“We are the only company taking aircraft to some of these airstrips. In the absence of our service, many of these areas would remain undeveloped. We would be happy for support in the upgrading and maintenance of airstrips in areas such as Maikwak, Kaikan, Kopinang, Ekereku and Eterinbang, to name a few in Regions Seven and Eight,” she said.

Work on the ASL terminal at Mahdia started in July and should be completed by March next year, Arjoon said.

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Air Services Limited constructs $25M terminal at Mahdia

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