Minister of State, Joseph Harmon informed the media that an update on the Ogle Airport lease arrangement has been presented to Cabinet by Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson.
Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, Minister Harmon said his Cabinet colleague also took the opportunity to provide updates on the current state of the aviation sector. Recommendations were also made and approved, Minister Harmon said. These include the formation of an Airport Review Panel, as part of Article 16 of the Airport Lease Agreement.
An Oversight Airports body was also approved by Cabinet, to supervise the commercial and economic practices of all airports locally, as well as the establishment of an Airport Authority. The latter, the Minister said would be to be upgrade, maintain and manage the infrastructure of all local airports. The development of a Civil Aviation Master Plan was also approved by Cabinet.
This, Harmon explained will be used to guide the strategic development of airport infrastructure, set out the types of services and facilities to be provided by all airports, and develop plans for air navigation services and safety oversight aspects of the sector.
All of the afore-mentioned were described as very important, by Minister Harmon, as Government says it intends to ensure that every region, “particularly Regions 1, 7 ,8 and 9 have municipal type airports of a quality that we have at the Eugene F. Correia Airport”.
The development of new towns and other communities, the Minister added, will necessitate the development of regulations and systems.
Government says it is moving to improve standards across the aviation sector, particularly for residents of hinterland communities who depend on air travel. (GINA)
