Residents get $500,000 contract to clear Eteringbang airstrip

Minister of Public Works, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill today announced that residents of Eteringbang will soon be awarded a contract to the tune of $500,000, to clear the edges of the airstrip there.

Bishop Edghill made the announcement during a site inspection at Eteringbang airstrip, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Twenty residents from Eteringbang will over the next five days, slash and remove the bushes on the sides of the 2,100-foot airstrip.

The width of the airstrip is supposed to be 50 feet; however, only 34 feet is available for planes. The remaining 16 feet is overtaken by bushes on both sides.

“The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority will have to supervise the installation of new cones to ensure we meet the regulations. Those cones will also be provided by the Ministry of Public Works, our maintenance section,” the Minister said.

The intervention of Minister Edghill has immediately created an avenue of direct employment in the village, pumping $500,000 into its economy.  

The 15 residents who interacted with the Minister were pleased that the work was given individuals in the area.

Lourenzo Valenzuela, a 49-year-old contractor, told Minister Edghill that the group has three brush cutters which will be used, along with cutlasses, to slash the thick vegetation.

Minister Edghill was also concerned about the state of the runway.

“I was scheduled to leave to come here for a 1:30 meeting, but I had to be delayed in Georgetown, so as to get the airstrip to drain. The men were literally fetching water out of the potholes with buckets to allow for my safe arrival.”

Minister Edghill emphasised that safety was paramount.

“Safety of our people on road, on water and those who travel by air are priorities by this government. So, whether it is our ferries, whether it is our roads, whether it is our airstrips whether it is our airplanes that have to bring us in to these parts, we want to emphasise safety and everything will be done to ensure the safety of our people; the tourist that are coming, the Guyanese that are using it and all and sundry.”

Minister Edghill was informed by the residents that the type of aircraft traversing the airstrip is creating a depression in the middle which leads to the pools when it rains.

The runway is made of laterite, with some parts being chemically stabilised.

Bishop Edghill was accompanied by a team of technical experts including Assistant Aviation Inspector, Alphonso Mangah; Chief Inspector, Aerodrome and Ground Aids, Adrian Bassier; Chief Transport Planning Officer, Patrick Thompson and Senior Engineer, Dionne Amsterdam.

The technical team advised the minister that a long-term solution for the airstrip is to have a reinforced concrete solution paving the entire surface.

“Ultimately we will have to bring a concrete airstrip as a solution. The laterite airstrip has outlived its usefulness. The volume of the traffic is immense and we have to be able to put a permanent solution,” Minister Edghill said.