Latest update July 4th, 2026 12:40 AM
New $221M Anna Regina Airstrip Commissioned
(Kaieteur News) – The $221 million newly upgraded Anna Regina Airstrip in Region Two was commissioned on Friday by President Irfaan Ali and members of his Cabinet.
The 2,000-by-50-foot asphalt airstrip, located near Mainstay/Whyaka Village, is expected to improve accessibility, support tourism and business, strengthen emergency response, and open new avenues for economic growth across the Essequibo Coast. The facility includes an apron and a waiting area equipped with restrooms and seating.
President Irfaan Ali
Delivering the feature address, President Ali said infrastructure such as airstrips plays a pivotal role in integrating the country, equalizing opportunities for coastal and remote communities alike.
In a country like Guyana, he said, airstrips are not luxuries but lifelines — cutting travel time not by minutes but by days, and reducing isolation “not by degrees, but by transformations.”
“Today’s ceremony goes beyond this airstrip,” Ali said. “It extends further than the length and width of the runway; it goes much deeper and higher than the aircraft that will land or ascend from this location. Building an airstrip is about connection, about inclusion — it is ‘One Guyana’ in action.”
He described ‘One Guyana’ as a mission to narrow economic gaps, ensure geography is less of a barrier to opportunity, and guarantee that no community is too small or too far to matter.
Turning to Region Two, the President noted its long-standing agricultural strength — rice, cash crops, fisheries, and livestock that have helped sustain the nation for decades. But he acknowledged that farmers, producers, and commercial businesses there have long faced logistical challenges.
“That is why our infrastructure agenda is built on a growth model,” he said, describing that model as central to economic diversification — one that creates new areas of economic empowerment, opportunity, and jobs.
Ali urged Mainstay residents to make the most of the investment, encouraging the development of luxury lakeside cabins for tourists and a significant scale-up in pepper production — from 15,000 to 20,000 pounds — backed by shade houses financed through the Development Bank and supported by a future processing facility.
The new Anna Regina Airstrip which was commissioned on Friday in Region Two.
The President also announced that the full Mainstay road — just over four kilometres — will be completed and paved in asphalt, with an advertisement for the works scheduled for today.
“We didn’t just design this and sit back and hope — we designed it, we built it, and we already knew where we were going,” he said. “Not one more kilometre; we’re going the full length, the full journey, and finishing it.”
Toshao of Mainstay, Marsha Williams, applauded the government for the project, saying it would improve connectivity and enhance residents’ quality of life.
She described Mainstay/Whyaka as a community rich in natural beauty, built on the twin pillars of tourism and agriculture. The airstrip, she said, will strengthen the tourism product by making it easier for visitors to experience the area’s beauty, culture, hospitality, and unique attractions.
“Increased tourism will create new opportunities for our entrepreneurs, accommodation providers, farmers, craft producers, and small businesses, contributing to economic growth and improved livelihoods for our residents,” Williams said.
She added that the development would also support the agriculture sector by improving access and creating greater opportunities for investment, trade, and the movement of goods and services.
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