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New water system being installed at CJIA
Kaieteur News – The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is in the process of installing an independent water system to the new US$160M facility located at Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
An overhead shot of the newly built airport
In a statement to the media, CJIA apologized for the facility, being out of water and as a result, passengers were unable to flush the toilets or wash their hands on Sunday.
“CJIA sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience this incident may have caused to our valued passengers and staff”, the airport stated.
According to CJIA, there was a disruption in water supply to the airport facility while Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) engineers were installing a new water supply line at the airport.
A main connecting valve reportedly blew out while the new line was being connected to the airport’s terminal and disrupted water supply to the building for several hours.
As a result, the toilets were clogged and filthy. Passengers could not use the facility and one woman made a live Facebook video to vent her frustration.
CJIA said in its apology said that the engineers were able to restore water supply to the building later that evening.
However, the installation of the new water system to the airport is still not yet complete.
“GWI anticipates completing the installation of the additional Water Supply System within one (1) week,” CJIA noted.
Nothing was mentioned about the cost to install the ‘independent’ water system but CJIA boasted will improve water supply to airport and assist GWI in enhancing its service to residents living close by.
“We understand the importance of uninterrupted services and are taking proactive measures to ensure the airport has the necessary resources to operate seamlessly,” the airport said.
An artist’s impression of what the US$160M airport should look like when it is completed.
The airport was built by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) for the sum of US$150 million.
Guyana burrowed US$138 million from the China Exim Bank and used another US $12 million from the Consolidated Fund – taxpayers’ money- to fund its construction.
When the government took office in August 2020, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill had expressed dissatisfaction with the work done by the contractor and as such, had negotiated with CHEC to do additional works at the airport, at no cost to Guyana.
The additional works that were done by the contractor included a superstructure, corridor and curtain wall. It was only recently that CHEC completed the works on the airport.
Notably, while the contract cost remains at US$150M, the government is undertaking several multi-million upgrades to the airport which were separated into three parts.
With more spending to be done on the airport, the final cost for the airport expansion is still unknown. Notably, while Minister Edghill had assured that the CJIA expansion project final cost will not surpass US$200 million –to date, the amount spent is over US$160 million.
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