Master of Ceremonies Chairman of the Board of Ogle Airport Inc
Your Excellency President Bharrat Jagdeo
Distinguished Prime Minister
Distinguished Ministers of the Government
Your Excellencies Ambassadors
Other Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Heads and Representatives of Regional Organisations and Institutions
Representatives of International Organisations
Representatives of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
I stand here today on the threshold of the realisation of one of my dreams. Just over two years ago in February 2005, as Secretary-General of CARICOM, I was privileged to receive and to turn the keys to open the doors to our very own home – the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community – at Turkeyen.
In February 2006, I had the added pleasure of attending a ceremony, literally next door to that of the Headquarters building, marking the opening of Guyana’s International Conference Centre.
Today, 16 March 2007, I am addressing a ceremony heralding the end of the first phase of the development of the Ogle Airport – a facility which would enable certain flights into and out of Guyana to operate merely some 7 to 10 minutes away from the Headquarters of the Community and the International Conference Centre.
These three facilities – the CARICOM Headquarters, the Guyana International Conference Centre and the enhanced Ogle Airport – form the bedrock of the vision which I have shared with many for some time now, including those responsible for this aerodrome. In my mind’s eye, I see this facility emerging as a hub for travel in our Caribbean Region and indeed in our southern hemisphere.
Apart from facilitating regional and hemispheric travel, I also see the development of a whole new social and commercial environment in this area. The proximity to each other of the CARICOM Secretariat, the International Conference Centre, the University of Guyana, the Ogle municipal airport and I gather, soon an international five-star hotel and a shopping centre, with all of that, we will be well on the way to equipping Georgetown to emerge as the virtual Brussels of the Caribbean.
Today what has been in my mind’s eye is unfolding in full sight! I am therefore pleased to have been afforded the opportunity to make these brief remarks.
The opening of this new terminal building and 800-metre runway at Ogle Airport and the proposed designation of the airport as a port of entry and departure for international air services, are more than just significant landmarks in the development of the air transport infrastructure in Guyana and CARICOM. They can also be major elements in the transformation and enhancement of Georgetown itself.
None of this development would have been possible without the active support of the Government of Guyana which must be commended for recognising and supporting a good thing for Guyana and CARICOM when it sees it. Equally, our thanks must also go to the European Commission – in particular Development Commissioner Michel and his Staff including the Georgetown Delegation – who have now given substance to the Commission’s commitment to regional integration, by agreeing to contribute some 1.5 million EUROS to this project.
Important as those contributions undoubtedly have been however, I believe that no one can deny the leading and indeed decisive role which a small group of enterprising Guyanese – the Ogle Airport Incorporated, a consortium headed by Mr Michael Correia Jr., have played in this project. I and my staff especially Messrs. Marie and Lewis, were only too happy to lend such support as we could. Indeed, in January of this year, my first official act was to travel to Brussels to sign the Financing Agreement with the European Commission under which this project will receive EU funding as part of the Caribbean Integration Support Programme under the 9th European Development Fund.
Mr. Chairman, I have been advised that the new terminal building adequately provides for the comfort and safety of air travellers as well as for the delivery of passenger and cargo services. Moreover, that it satisfies the security requirements for international transport, generally. And as regards the new runway, I am also assured that it complies with the international safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). I am more than happy for these assurances.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the significance of this development of the Ogle Airport, cannot be over estimated. From being essentially a domestic airport, one providing regular air services to the hinterlands of Guyana, the Ogle Airport is now well poised to become a regional airport and a new and strategic point in the air transport network of the Community. As such, it will facilitate the achievement of the central essential feature of a Community, that is, the co-mingling of peoples. That is what our Community is – the co-mingling of peoples – and certainly this development will greatly enhance the achievement of that objective. Also, it will contribute significantly to the realisation of the Community’s transportation policy which in the words of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which establishes that Community, aims at “the provision of adequate, safe and internationally competitive transport services for the development and consolidation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.”
Excellencies, Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, the resulting possibilities which lie ahead for the development of Guyana being fuelled by the facilities now developing in this area, are virtually limitless. When completed, the strategic location of the Ogle Airport on the very outskirts of the city could facilitate the business traveller and investor who could be in and out of Georgetown during a business day coming from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other points including some in Brazil and Venezuela, that lie within range of the de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft and other similar aircraft.
This development will also open important opportunities for the tourism sector. With sound marketing, this link could prove an irresistible lure to our Caribbean brothers and sisters and others from further afield who may wish to see more of this beautiful country, especially following the exposure that will arise out of Cricket World Cup 2007.
From the Secretariat’s viewpoint, I anticipate that when completed, this new airport facility will permit more efficient and convenient travel arrangements by Ministers, other Government Officials and the Staff of the Secretariat as they steadfastly discharge their responsibilities in building our Caribbean Community. I myself personally look forward to taking advantage of this important and helpful development.
Ladies and Gentleman, it would be remiss of me if I did not take this opportunity to thank all the CARIFORUM Governments who so readily agreed to support this project as a regional one and so ensure its eligibility for access to European Union financial assistance.
Finally, through the developments we are celebrating today, Guyana and the Caribbean Community are being placed in a much better position to interact among themselves and with their southern neighbours. The enhancement of the Ogle Airport can therefore be seen as an effective platform for South-South cooperation, including most importantly people-to-people interaction.
Who knows – perhaps one day, we may look back at 16 March 2007, and remember that it was on that day that Guyana, the seat of the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community, truly cemented its place as well as that Community’s gateway to the South American continent.
And so let it be, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I thank you.
