Opposition wants probe into crumbling of Paruima Airstrip runway

Jul 22, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is calling for a full investigation into the problems at the Paruima Airstrip.

The airstrip runway crumbled shortly after it was commissioned back in April this year. In a press release issued on Sunday, the party said the situation at the airport is a disgrace. “After an expenditure of nearly $400 million, the runway failed when the first plane landed. This could have been a disaster with the loss of several lives, but thankfully, by God’s grace, no one died.”

However, the PNCR said the absence of injury or death does not mean that, as a nation, we should take this matter any less seriously. “The design and construction process for civil projects should incorporate checks and balances, quality assurance, and quality control. At each stage of the design process, design deliverables such as geotechnical reports, structural calculations, construction drawings, and specifications need to be independently reviewed and approved,” the PNCR said.

This review, the party said is critical to the safety of Guyanese using newly constructed roads, bridges, and airports. It noted that construction should be closely supervised by competent professionals. No contractor should be allowed to perform work unsupervised. “This supervision should ensure reinforcement bars are clean and placed as required by the drawings, that the concrete mix design is as per contract, and the concrete is placed and compacted as required. This process should also include routine compressive tests performed on concrete placed into the works, and if these tests fail, the contractor should be required, as per contract, to remove and replace the substandard concrete.”

According to the PNCR, if this process had been followed, there is no way the Paruima runway could have failed. The party said there will be a rush to blame the contractor, apply financial punishment, and sweep the issue under the carpet. “However, what happened at the Paruima airport is symptomatic of a problem that pervades the procurement process under the PPP. For this reason, the PNCR demands a full and transparent investigation into the Paruima airport fiasco. The nation needs to know: who designed the airstrip?; were the required engineering processes complied with?; who reviewed and approved the designs, and what did the review reveal?; who supervised the contractor, if anyone, while the work was being performed?; were routine compressive tests done on the concrete used in the works?; if tests were done, did any of the samples fail, and if so, what was done? and if no tests were done, why not?; were there any non-engineering/political interventions or influences during the entire project? Most critically, the PNCR is also demanding that urgent non-destructive in-situ tests be performed on the runway to establish the extent of the deficiencies.

Last week, the Ministry of Public Works issued a statement, noting that the rehabilitation of Paruima Airstrip is currently under the Defects Liability Period and the contractor is obligated by contract to remedy any and all defects arising thereafter. Works on the airstrip were completed on April 14, 2024, and the project site handed over to the Ministry of Public Works on April 15. The ministry’s representatives along with the contractor had conducted a joint site visit on June 19, 2024 following reports from aircraft operators that the runway was in distress. During the inspection, several surface defects were highlighted and the contractor was given clear instructions to have these defects remedied within a one (01) week period. “To date, these defects have since been corrected and MoPW is currently executing plans to assess the structural integrity of the remainder of the runway structure to ensure conformity with design strength and correct any possible area of deficiency to avoid further inconvenience to aircraft operations. The ministry would like to note that the current video circulating on social media platforms was taken prior to June 19, 2024,” the statement read.

Additionally, the ministry said it should be noted that due to the remoteness of the location and the logistical challenges in transporting equipment and materials to the site, smaller sized equipment and locally available materials were most feasible for rehabilitation of the airstrip. “As it relates to the competency of the contractor, Port Kaituma and Baramita Airstrips were both rehabilitated by the contractor in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The surface type of these airstrips is double bituminous surface treatment, they are in very good condition and no defects were observed to date.

 

 

 

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• observed, Paruima Airstrip, Paruima runway, Port Kaituma and Baramita, reports, structural calculations

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