50 residents employed to help construct new $993M Karasabai airstrip

As the government accelerates hinterland infrastructure and connectivity, some 50 people from the village of Karasabai in Region Nine will be employed to upgrade the current earthen airstrip into a concrete airfield.

This project will be built at a cost of $993 million, transforming it into eight inches of thick, rigid paved concrete, spanning a length of 3000ft by 50ft, with a strength of 5000 pounds per square inch (PSI).

About 50 navigational lights will be installed along the strip, allowing planes to land and take off at night in the event of an emergency.

Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill, and a technical team from the ministry, including Head of the Special Projects Unit (SPU) Colin Gittens, visited the community on Wednesday to discuss the project with residents.

Construction is scheduled to begin on January 19 with an estimated duration of 75 days, to be executed by the SPU using a community participation model.

Fifty skilled and unskilled persons will participate in this transformative project.

“This model of development, where the Government of Guyana, through the Special Projects Unit, has been working with communities to do two things, ensure there is employment and add to economic activity, but at the same time delivering infrastructural development,” the minister said.

International Import and Supplies, the company responsible for supplying materials for the project, will also gift the village a terminal similar to the one being constructed at the new Aishalton airfield.

“During the 70 days or 75 days that this airstrip would be closed for construction, we’ll have to ensure that the road that links you with Lethem is improved,” Minister Edghill assured residents, noting that this will ensure persons in any medical emergency get to the closest airstrip safely in the shortest possible time.

In early January, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali commissioned two modern concrete airstrips in the villages of Paramakatoi, Region Eight and Aishalton, Region Nine, further boosting hinterland connectivity as outlined in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s 2025 Manifesto.

These projects provide safe and consistent transportation and create opportunities in agriculture, tourism, and other businesses, which improve livelihoods by creating jobs, increasing incomes, and supporting a healthy village economy.[DPI]