KINGSTON - The Cane Garden Leguan Project has seen some 750 meters of Rip Rap completed to date and works are expected to end by December 2014.
According to Project Engineer, Dennis Ramsingh, approximately 1,000 meters of Sea Defence was subjected to severe erosion which resulted in the loss of all the mangroves within this stretch, therefore, the earthen embankment was fully exposed to the oceans.
Mr. Ramsingh further reiterated that all phases of the Project are expected to be completed in December 2014.
Albert James, Chairman of the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC) of the Enterprise /Leguan area, said the Project started at a slow pace but has reached significant strides so far "Initially, the Contractor was progressing slow on the Project but to date the residents are happier and would like to see the completion of the work in a timely manner".
Some residents have expressed their gratitude to the Government with the improvement on the land since the Project started. Mr. Sheik Ayube said that farming is made easier now that flooding does not occur, "The water has eased tremendously and we can now have access to the land without worrying about the water coming in, we would like to thank the Ministry of Works for assisting us in this regard".
Meanwhile, another resident, Mr. Lachhman Dwarkha said the Contractor on the Project deserves a medal for the work done so far. "We are very pleased and satisfied with the work completed to date, and the Contractor truly deserves to be rewarded for satisfactory work, we now have dry land to work on and thanks to the Government of Guyana for their input".
This Project is a Government of Guyana funded one.
KINGSTON - The MV MALALI ferry which usually plies the Parika -Wakenaam-Supenaam-Parika route, completed its dry docking at the E.C Vieira Investment Ltd Dry Docking facility on October 9, 2014 after extensive rehabilitation was done on the vessel.
The Vessel entered the dock yard on September 1, 2014 after dry docking and rehabilitation works were awarded to the E. C Vieira Investment Ltd at a cost of one hundred and eighteen million nine hundred and fifty two thousand dollars ($118,952,000). Dr. Clinton Hazel was assigned as the Project Engineer.
Some of the repair works include the construction of a new canteen on the Passenger's Deck, and an opening at the Port-Side Bow was converted into a Sailor's Cabin.
In addition, seven cabins were reconstructed for the crew, hull works, the installation of Anodes, replacing of the water tank, among other works were also completed.
Meanwhile, the Central Workshop of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) undertook some of the additional repairs such as the mechanical, electrical and machinery maintenance. The repairs were completed beyond the allotted contracted amount.
The MV MALALI recommenced its service at the Parika Stelling on October 15, 2014 even as the T&HD managed to continue its scheduled ferry operations efficiently.
KINGSTON - The resurfacing of critical sections of the Linden/Lethem road project, which has reduced the travel time from 13 plus hours to seven, will be completed in another seven days.
The sections were compacted with lateritic material.
The multimillion dollar project, which commenced in September 2014, was executed in phases by Troy Resources; Omai Gold Mines (OGM); Demerara Timbers Limited (DTL); Mekdeci Machinery and Construction (MMC) and Vevakanand Dalip Enterprise (DALIP).
Two hundred and seventy-six miles of road was upgraded under the project.
Additionally, in an effort to improve visibility along the busy thoroughfare, extensive bush cutting was done especially in the vicinity of the Iwokrama Concession.
Below is a breakdown of the travel time:
From
To
Distance/miles
Previous Travel Time/hr
Current Travel Time/Hr
RockStone Junction
Omai Turn Off
65
3.5
1.5
Frenchman Junction
19
0.75
Kurupukari
51
1.25
Kurupari
Annai
3
Lethem
76
2
Total
276
13.75
7
The Ministry is advising drivers to reduce their speed on the roadway to curtail the risk of accidents.
KINGSTON - At approximately 22:30 hours on Monday October 27, 2014, a loaded barge with the name DAR 'B' while being towed by a tug, name given as 'KYLE', sank at the mouth of the Demerara River.
The Barge was on one of its regular voyages from Teperi Quarry in the Essequibo River towards its discharge berth in Kingston Georgetown. DAR 'B' which is owned by BK Marine was reported to have 2,000 Tons of Aggregate on board the vessel.
There were five (5) crew members on board the tug. One of the crew members who may have fallen overboard when the vessel sank was wearing his life jacket. He was however quickly rescued. Consequently, there were no casualties.
Prior to, officials from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) arrival to secure the area, an outbound ship came into contact with the stone on the sunken barge. It remained stuck in that position for about one hour, but it refloated as the tide began flooding.
Navigation in the area was temporarily suspended as officers from MARAD sought to locate and mark the exact position of the wreck. Navigation has resumed with vessel traffic control measures being put in place. This will be enhanced as more buoys are placed during the day to aid mariners to safely navigate in the area.
Salvage operations should commence shortly, and as with all such occurrences MARAD has launched an investigation.
TIMEHRI - Amid criticism of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport’s moves to keep out the deadly Ebola virus, President Donald Ramotar, Robeson Benn, Minister of Public Works and Bheri Ramsaran, Minister of Health on Monday visited the port of entry to check on the preparations to address the medical requirements of any air traveller suspected of being infected with the disease.
President Ramotar praised the efforts being made to address any possible Ebola cases locally. The Head of State had a firsthand look at the CJIA preparations. He said he was constantly being briefed on developments in the health sector, and Ebola is a major concern for the Government. The health, transportation, and security sectors and other stakeholders are involved in the effort, the President said.
“I’m very happy that this work is going on, and the seriousness with which it is being taken, as it’s important,” he said.
Recently, President Ramotar addressed the nation and called for broad-based support from all stakeholders to help to prepare for the fight against any possible Ebola outbreak. Many have heeded this call, the President said, including the political Opposition. “I have had conversations with the Opposition Leader and he has assured me of his full support in this regard. I’ve also spoken to the leader of the AFC (Alliance For Change) who also assured me of their support, and I plan to have meetings later this week with other stakeholders.”
The main purpose of his visit to the facility at the CJIA was to check the response of the Government structures to make sure they are fully ready and taking all precautions to try and keep this disease out of Guyana. In terms of cost, the President said that Government will do whatever is necessary to protect citizens and expressed the hope that any requested budgetary allocations would not be cut by the political Opposition.
The ongoing preparations, Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran stressed, were an “all-Guyana national effort”. Hundreds of persons have already received training to deal specifically with any suspected Ebola cases, he added.
Infrastructure in place
“We will be having drills from time to time to ensure that we do not make human errors. As we roll out our training, the physical infrastructure is there and being developed along with the human infrastructure,” Dr Ramsaran said.
He pointed out that every shift at the CJIA will have a doctor to address any potential issues and similar measures are being put in place at the Ogle International Airport and Moleson Creek Crossing, Corentyne, Berbice.
The Head of State added that the measures, which followed directives from the Head of State and Cabinet, will go along with the countrywide interventions, in respect to public health.
Guyana has begun putting intensive measures in place to deal with any suspected Ebola cases. Persons travelling from countries with the virus-borne disease have also been barred from travelling to Guyana.
Ebola has infected more than 10,000 people in West African and several other countries, killing about 5000.
KINGSTON - The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has acquired a batch of 36 infrared thermometers as it continues to carry out screening for the deadly Ebola virus at several ports of entry across the country.
This was disclosed by Transport Minister, Robeson Benn on Friday, October 24, who said the initiative is being done in conjunction with other efforts by the Ministry of Health.
He said the main port – the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) – has already been supplied with some of these instruments.
Others will be supplied to officials at the Ogle International Airport, Moleson Creek, Lethem and Canawaima crossings and the Maritime Administration (MARAD).
The Ministry of Health has assured that all local and international passengers will be subject to screening at the Ogle and Cheddi Jagan Airports as a full Ebola preparedness and prevention awareness and training initiative is being rolled out.
Guyana has a mass preparedness campaign on-stream as the dreaded Ebola virus continues to cause worldwide uproar.
Some 1, 600 medical professionals have commenced training on dealing with the virus and the necessary approach towards administering care to persons who have contracted the virus as opposed to those who are suspected to have it.
In addition, emphasis will be placed on safety and precautionary measures for health care providers, who may come in contact with an infected person or environment, as the Ebola is highly contagious and spreads rapidly through direct or indirect contact with bodily fluids. (INews)
KINGSTON - Pilot error resulting from poor cockpit resources management by the pilot and co-pilot was identified as the sole cause of the crash of Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) Flight BW 523 which ran off the runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on July 30, 2011.
During a media briefing on the accident report which was released on Friday, October 24, Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn who is responsible for aviation, disclosed that the team of local and international investigators had listed this as their main finding.
He stressed: “The flight crew’s indecision as to the execution of a go-around, failure to execute a go-around after the aircraft floated some distance down the runway and their (the cockpit crew) diminished situational awareness were the main contributors.”
The aircraft had no mechanical defects which could have contributed to the accident.
The entire report can be found on the website www.publicworks.gov.gy.
Benn added that the report being public and available for viewing by all interested parties may be useful to those who may want to take any sort of follow-up action based on the findings.
The Accident Investigation Team, it was disclosed, was headed by Investigator-in-Charge, Ms. Paula Mc Adam of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The team comprised representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) the United States of America National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) the Boeing Company, which is the maker of the aircraft, and the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS).
Attorney-at-law, Amanda Desir representing the Ministry took pains to point out that the report was prepared pursuant to article 26 of the Chicago Convention and as a result the sole objective had been for the prevention of accidents and incidents.
She stressed: “It was not the purpose of these investigations to apportion blame or liability.”
The investigators had added several recommendations which when implemented will help to enhance safety of aircraft on touchdown.
Lessons learnt by Guyana’s security teams and firefighters on the ground in the immediate aftermath of the crash had also been implemented by way of emergency exercise drills and these forces are as a result now better equipped to deal with emergencies.
One recommendation to the management of the CJIA is that they must set aside an easily identifiable area to provide comfort to passengers who may be in distress as well as their relatives, during an emergency.
Disclosing details on the findings, Benn disclosed that investigators had found that the ill-fated aircraft had touched down approximately 4.700 feet beyond the runway threshold, a mere 2,700 feet from the end of the runway and the crew had been unable to stop the aircraft on the remaining runway surface.
“The aircraft exited the end of the runway approximately 20 feet left of the centre line breaking through a fence and coming to rest on the bottom of a 20 feet high earth embankment. The final position of the aircraft was approximately 130 feet from the end of the paved surface and 64 feet off the extended runway centre line,” he said quoting from the report.
The aircraft broke into two sections in the vicinity of the first class bulkhead. Both engines were destroyed by the impact and foreign objects ingestion. The damage had been found to be beyond economic repair.
There had been no fatalities but one passenger suffered a broken leg which eventually had to be amputated. Several other passengers and crew suffered minor injuries during the accident and investigation.
Ms. Mc Adam said that the team interviewed the crew and none of them could give any explanation as to why the plane had landed too late on the runway. She however disclosed that the cockpit voice recorder indicated that there was not enough coordination in the cockpit.
“During the landing and at the point of landing there was not significant interaction between the pilot and the first officer. There was a lack of awareness in the cockpit as to where the aircraft was. There was poor coordination in the cockpit during the landing. In short, there was poor Cockpit Resource Management. The pilots were not sleepy.”
She said that one recommendation the team had made was with respect to training aimed at improving Cockpit Resource Management.
“This and other recommendations have been made to the CAL and T&TCAA and we have been assured that the T&TCAA is following up on the recommendations to ensure that they are implemented,” she said.
She said that she was certain too that the CAL would take the recommendations on board since it was a business and they would want to ensure that they do things to ensure that the safety of their passengers is enhanced. She stressed that the team had not recommended grounding of the crew or any disciplinary action because that was not its role.
The Chief Investigator added that such actions were the prerogative of T&T CAA and CAL since they both had the responsibility of ensuring that corrective actions were taken before allowing the pilots involved in the accident to fly again.
KINGSTON - The 10 month project to reconstruct the Moleson Creek Bridge is completed. The 105 foot long concrete structure was opened to traffic on Saturday, October 18, 2014.
Construction of the GYD 60M project began in January, and included the replacement of structural steel and the driving surface, as well as widened support piers.
The developmental project amplified the eastbound and westbound bridge by 10 feet, allowing for wider shoulders for easier traffic flow.
The bridge is approximately two miles from the Moleson Creek Stelling - a heavily trafficked area where a ferry plies the Guyana/Surinam route.
B & J Civil Works was the contracting company for the bridge project, with Sherod Parkinson, a Public Works Ministry Engineer overseeing the project.
The Ministry through its Bridges’ programme has built several major bridges including ones at Ogle, Eastern Highway (Sophia) and Hampton Court over the past 16 months.
The GYD 11M Bounty Hall Bridge in Essequibo, is expected to be completed in another six weeks. N. Sukhi Contracting Services is executing that project.
KINGSTON - “Water vendors” who had occupied the Vlissengen/Irving/ Lamaha intersection were removed by the Ministry of Public Works on Thursday, October 9, 2014.
The vendors, who had occupied this major traffic light junction had moved rapidly from water selling to adding “sweet drinks “ and “snack selling” at this critical area creating significant and growing congestion, safety risks and litter. Not only had the number of sellers increased but also the variety of trade they plied at the intersection.
The Ministry of Public Works has previously denied occupation of this intersection by fruit vendors, fish sellers and vagrants. The vagrants used the area for open cooking, resting, panhandling and bathing.
The Ministry of Public Works would like to reiterate that it will not condone congestion and distractions on the roadways and intersections particularly with respect to Declared Public Roads and traffic light intersections – such activity is illegal.
Further, the Ministry of Public Works calls on the general public particularly commuters to work with the Guyana Police Force and the Ministry to improve safety and efficiency on the road networks.
The Ministry’s action does not interfere with vendors who “walk and sell” - once they do not constitute a traffic hazard.
KINGSTON - Global airline data provider Innovata said there has been a 12-per cent increase in flights in and out of Guyana with figures showing around 460,000 one-way seats being offered on services involving Guyanese airports this year when compared to last year.
That said, both airports managed to post capacity increases when compared to 2013 figures, with Ogle doubling its annual capacity, while Cheddi Jagan posted 9.6 per cent growth.
In fact, the rapid expansion at Ogle comes as a result of LIAT having taken the decision to move all of its Cheddi Jagan operations to the airport located 10 kilometres away from the Guyanese capital, which was granted international airport status in 2009.
Previously, Ogle was mainly used for domestic flights within Guyana.
According to Innovata, overall, looking at the annual seat figures since 2005, the combined capacity of the Guyanese market grew by an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6 per cent, with Cheddi Jagan’s capacity having visibly accelerated in the period after the global economic crisis.
Not surprisingly, considering the country’s political and economic instability in recent years, the Guyanese aviation industry saw uneven development between 2005 and 2014.
CAL commands
As of October 2014, Guyana is served by a total of seven airlines, with Caribbean Airlines – the flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago – being the dominant player in this country market, as it commands 69 per cent and 62 per cent of seats and flights respectively.
The airline, which carried 2.9 million passengers last year, operates three airport pairs, to New York JFK, Toronto Pearson and Port of Spain, with the latter being its most frequently served destination with a total of 30 weekly flights from the CJIA. Ranking second with a weekly seat share of 14 per cent, Fly Jamaica Airways connects the CJIA to Toronto and Kingston, with the former sector having been added on December 17 with weekly flights.
Total weekly seat capacity in Guyana has gone up 24 per cent, with two out of the seven carriers recording growth, when comparing data from this October with the same week last year, while Surinam Airways and LIAT saw their operations unchanged.
Fly Jamaica is the fastest growing operator, increasing its weekly capacity by 100 per cent or 621 weekly seats over the last 12 months. Besides commencing weekly flights to Pearson last December, the latest Jamaican start-up has also added two further weekly flights on the 2379-kilometre sector to Kingston. While no carrier posted capacity decline in the last 12 months, the Guyanese market has seen the arrival of three new airlines, namely Insel Air from Aruba (twice-weekly), Copa Airlines from Panama City (twice-weekly) and CONVIASA from Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela (weekly).
Top country market
A total of nine countries can be reached non-stop from Guyana according to Innovata schedule data for this October. At around 4800 weekly seats, 4.6 per cent more than in the corresponding week last year, Trinidad and Tobago tops the list of country markets served, with a combined total of 30 weekly flights operated by Caribbean Airlines from the CJIA.
Jamaica has seen the most significant growth in weekly capacity, 67 per cent, or an additional 414 seats, followed by the USA (24 per cent) and this year’s top position.
The US, which is served by Surinam Airways and Caribbean Airlines, has seen a net growth of 214 weekly seats due to the latter’s additional weekly departure to New York JFK. Noteworthy is the fact that in the last 12 months, four new country markets have entered this year’s ranking, namely Canada, Aruba, Panama and Venezuela, while Caribbean Airlines has withdrawn its twice-weekly flights to Antigua and Barbuda. (Guyana Times)
