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Review being done as facility renamed Eugene F. Correia Int’l Airport
Despite fierce objections by several members of the Aviation fraternity, the government yesterday proceeded with the renaming the Ogle International Airport the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.
President David Granger and a member of Eugene F. Correia family during the unveiling of the plaque yesterday.
However, this move was not the “final nail into the coffin”. A review is being done into the operations of the facility.
Minister of Public Infrastructure (MPI) David Patterson said this yesterday at the renaming ceremony which was held at the airport, Ogle.
Patterson said that while the Operation Section of the airport is running smoothly, that does not mean that there is no room for improvement. He said that the airport plays a major role in the aviation sector and this role is expected to expand drastically.
‘What might have worked a decade ago, may not be what is best for today. Therefore, a review is being done of the operations of the airport,” Patterson said.
The review also caters for the examination of the land lease that was granted to the then Ogle Airport during the time the airport was privatised.
Patterson said that an “independent” legal firm is looking at the lease. This separate exercise, he said, will be done transparently.
The concerns of the operators who had opposed the renaming, claiming that it will create an unlevel competitive playing field, will not be dismissed as something without any “merit”. This will also be addressed in the review, Patterson said.
The Ogle International Airport was yesterday renamed to the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.
In addition, the Minister stated that the administration is managing a national asset and its management “should be dealt with in an equitable manner.” This is a commitment Patterson made, on behalf of the Government of Guyana.
“We will work with all stakeholders to ensure that a satisfactory consensus is reached,” he said.
Chairman of the Board, Michael Correia Jnr., spoke about how the renaming of the airport had derived.
Over the past few days, the decision to rename the airport was apparently misconstrued and therefore, Correia said that he wished to “set the record straight”.
He refuted the claim that he was the one who pushed for the renaming. The suggestion to rename the facility was made by President David Granger, he said.
Correia went on to question the contributions to the Aviation Sector by the persons who opposed the renaming – more particularly, Captain Gerry Gouveia, Roraima Airways boss.
Correia said that the opposing parties are operating without taking into account what is best for the development of the sector and the country.
President Granger stated that the suggestion to rename the facility was indeed his. The President said that he was not coerced into making this decision and continued that it was fitting that the facility be renamed in honour of Eugene F. Correia since he was a major contributor to Guyana’s Aviation sector and a true son of the soil.
Granger quoted from a scroll that was made in honour of Eugene Correia – a former Minister of Government – decades ago.
The President then handed over the document to the Correia family during his address.
He also informed the gathering of Correia’s achievements including, the fact that he was awarded posthumously the Golden Arrowhead of Achievement, which was presented by President Arthur Chung to a member of Correia’s family in 1973.
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