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9 companies bid to rehabilitate Ekereku Bottom, Karisparu airstrips
Kaieteur News – In response to the Ministry of Public Works invitation for bids (IFB) to rehabilitate two hinterland airstrips which is estimated to cost $650 million, nine companies have applied to execute the works. This was revealed during the opening of tenders on Wednesday at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) office.
The airstrips the Ministry is moving to upgrade are the Ekereku Bottom Airstrip in Region Seven and the Karisparu Airstrip in Region Eight. It was stated in the Ministry’s IFB that $316 million is estimated to rehabilitate the Region Seven airstrip while $334 million was projected to fix the airstrip in Region Eight.
The present condition of the Ekereku Bottom Airstrip in Region Seven.
The Karisparu Airstrip in Region Eight.
The companies, which offered bids for the contracts, are International Import & Supplies which tendered $385,573,951 for the Region Seven airstrip and $420,927,588 for the Region Eight runway; Ideal Engineering Services Inc. which tendered $301,302,750 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip and $314,421,450 for the Karisparu airstrip; William Contracting which tendered $274,461,810 for the Ekereku Bottom and $291,269,895 for Karisparu; H. Nauth and Sons which tendered $315,270,900 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip and $363,251,175 for Karisparu; BDE Recycling which tendered $289,553,150 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip and $351,520,050 for Karisparu; and Deodat Singh Construction which offered $311,641,050 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip only.
Meanwhile, R&M Timbers and General Supplies tendered $305,553,150 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip and $301,351,850 for Karisparu; KP Thomas and Sons Contracting Inc. tendered $315,890,138 for the Ekereku Bottom airstrip and $365,874,275 for Karisparu; and the Orlando Charles Fundation of Hope offered $308,034,237 for the Region Seven airstrip and $318,786,678 for the one in Region Eight.
Kaieteur News understands that the Ministry’s plan is to upgrade the airstrips to concrete structures since they have been in poor conditions for some time which pose a danger to aircrafts and passengers utilising them.
It was explained that the Karisparu Airstrip, which has a sand-gravel surface, would become waterlogged when it rains therefore rendering the structure inoperable for takeoff and landing of flights. The source told Kaieteur News that the surface is equally dangerous when dry as it becomes loose and therefore affects the performance of aircraft.
As a result of the poor condition, there are limited flights to this location and the community is highly dependent on air travel because of the absence of efficient alternative modes.
Similarly, this publication was told that the Ekereku Bottom runway has a bituminous surface treatment, which has potholes. The Ministry had previously conducted repairs to the airstrip but the structure has reportedly deteriorated and poses danger to the landing gears of planes.
This specific runway is slated to be widened from 40ft to 50ft to be compliant with Guyana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) regulation.
This newspaper was further told that restrictions have been implemented on the weight of the cargos being transported to these locations, as a result of the state of the runways. To this end, the Ministry is planning to rehabilitate the airstrips from sand-gravel to concrete surfaces to better facilitate the users.
In January, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said, during his presentation of this year’s budget, that the government had expended $345 million in 2021 for the rehabilitation and maintenance of several hinterland airstrips including at Baramita and Paramakatoi.
This year, $600 million has been allocated for the rehabilitation and maintenance of hinterland airstrips at Eteringbang, Karisparu, Paruima and Ekereku Bottom.
“The interventions to be undertaken on the airstrips earmarked for this year are intended to make them compliant with the GCAA’s minimum engineering standards. Moreover, this will improve the safety for travellers, aircraft and personnel using the airstrips.
This subsector has been allocated $2 billion including $927 million for CJIA,” Singh had told the National Assembly. (Allyiah Allicock)
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