Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 04, 2015 AFC Column, Features / Columnists
-achieving Category I aviation listing, safer bridge for the Demerara River
“Domestic Aviation has proven to be one of the keys to unlocking (the potential for a fully developed Hinterland), bringing our people together, developing our communities and exploiting our natural resources,” H.E. President David Granger said at the September 2015 commissioning of Trans Guyana’s new Raytheon 19-seater Beechcraft. He used the opportunity to urge stakeholders, including the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) and private aircraft owners, to move ahead quickly with their plans to “unlock the socio-economic potential of Guyanese and bridge the (geographical) distance between the Coastland and Hinterland”.
Statistics from the Ogle International Airport show that approximately 13,500 passengers pass through it monthly. These stats are growing rapidly which makes it imperative for all operators and oversight bodies to put every measure in place to ensure that the services are safe and reliable.
The GCAA is a satellite of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure. It is already committed to returning this sector to a position of full compliance with the regulations laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Their target for the end of 2015 is 70 percent effective implementation.
ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that has codified the principles and techniques of international air navigation. It fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and effective aviation growth among all of its member states.
In addition to ICAO compliance, the GCAA is simultaneously pursuing United States Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Category One safety rating under their International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Programme. Achievement of Category I status for Guyana will enable local air carriers to initiate direct service to the US or upgrade their current level of services, and to participate in reciprocal code-share arrangements with U.S-based carriers, among other benefits.
This is progress and is in keeping with Government’s promise to achieve International Category I rating during its first term of office.
In addition, the GCAA will continue to improve and develop Aeronautical Surveillance using the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast System (ADS-B) which was introduced in 2014 to upgrade air traffic control and ultimately accommodate a larger volume of traffic in Guyana’s airspace.
Civil Aviation is also in the process of developing the requisite safety and security legislation in keeping with these new initiatives while internally boosting the quality of technical training for existing staff and new hires to strengthen their institutional capacity. Their immediate plans also include the purchase of a new Air Traffic Control Simulator.
The Ministry has revised the expansion blueprint for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). Of primary importance was the change that had to be made to the perimeter demarcations. The new plan will see only fifteen (15) families being relocated due to their very close proximity to the airport. The Government has identified a parcel of land adjacent to their current location at Timehri and the appropriate infrastructure is being installed including roads, electricity, water and other essential services. When all is ready in the new housing area, the Government has committed to providing assistance to each family before and during their relocation.
BRIDGING THE DEMERARA RIVER AT AN ALTERNATIVE LOCATION
Minister Patterson has spoken on several occasions about the vulnerability of the Demerara Harbour Bridge which links the East Bank of Demerara with the West, at Peter’s Hall and SchoonOrd (Joe Vieira Park). Today the 6,074 foot long floating bridge is 37 years old having been commissioned on 2nd July 1978. It took 25 months to be constructed with assistance from the British government. The basic design though was created by Guyanese Captain John Patrick Coghlan. Here are some interesting facts:-
* Following the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Forbes Burnham approached from Peter’s Hall and Deputy PM Ptolemy Reid from Schoon Ord to meet in the middle of the bridge in a symbolic gesture of East meeting West.
• The original idea for the bridge was proposed by Captain John Patrick Coghlan in 1952 completing extensive feasibility studies that included estimated traffic, toll, funding avenues, a hydrographic survey, and a subsoil analyses. His proposal was first rejected by Sir Frank McDavid, Financial Secretary and Treasurer of the colonial government.
*The bridge is a quarter mile long and 24 feet wide with two traffic lanes. Vehicles traveling on the bridge should not weigh more than 72,000 pounds.
• There are 61 spans including a high level span and two retractor spans
• The East and West approaches to the bridge were constructed with a total of 395, 000 clay bricks laid over some 99,565 square feet.
*It was the first time that such a massive bricklaying project was undertaken in Guyana. Only one of the workers involved in the five-week project had any experience in bricklaying. The bricks were manufactured at the Bel-Lu Clay Brick Factory, WBD which was at the time manufacturing about 100,000 bricks per week.
• The total cost of the Demerara Harbour Bridge was $37.8M. The cost was divided into several sectors:- bridge components – $29.7M; bridge spares – $2.8M; cranes and pile-driving equipment – $1.1M; additional electrical components – $600,000; and construction expenditure – $3.6M.
• Of the nine (9) Guyanese engineers who worked on the bridge, eight (8) were graduates of the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology. They were Rickford Lowe, Hamlet Hope, Winsley Pearson, Prem Singh, Winston December, Baburam Singh, James Dukhan and Paul Henderson.
(www.landofsixpeoples.com)
The Demerara Harbour Bridge was designed to last only 10 years. As it ages, the need for repairs to the flotation units, retractor spans, electrical systems and almost every component of the structure becomes more constant and costly. Its bitumen surface has also degraded significantly.
The Public Infrastructure Ministry will soon commission the requisite surveys (including soil composition, distance, cost and skill availability) on both banks of the Demerara River to come to a determination on the most feasible location for a new structure. Thousands of people utilize the bridge for daily or occasional commute to work, to shop, to transport produce, to attend school, to access the two airports, the Essequibo Coast, Bartica and some Hinterland regions.
It cannot be overemphasized just how vital it is for the government to provide safe, reliable infrastructure to link our numerous towns and districts, to foster the development of business enterprises, and to educate our children.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
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