‘Reduce your costs’ – President Ali urges local flight operators as upgraded Paramakatoi airstrip opens

As the upgraded Paramakatoi Airstrip opened on Monday, President Dr Irfaan Ali urged local flight operators to reduce the hefty fares citizens pay to travel to and from that community.

Paramakatoi is an Indigenous community in the Pakaraima mountains, Region Eight (Potaro- Siparuni). For years, residents have grappled with hefty flight costs, and President Ali said many operators complained that the state of the airstrip drove those costs up.

But now that there is this upgraded airstrip ready for use, the President wants those costs to go down.

“We will not just sit by and not allow the benefit of these cost-savings to be transferred to the people.

“We will know by tomorrow which one of the services will announce a reduction in the cost coming into Paramakatoi… Our investment must lead to investment in the people,” Dr Ali said at the commissioning ceremony for the airstrip.

The nearly $800 million project features a 2,500-foot-long, 50-foot-wide runway constructed with six inches of rigid paved concrete.

A 100-by-100-foot tarmac has also been added to provide a designated parking area for aircraft. The airstrip, which serves as the region’s primary mode of transportation, was constructed by International Import and Supplies.

Additionally, the airstrip will improve residents’ quality of life by increasing air connectivity, while also enabling faster response times for emergency flights in and out of the area. President Ali also highlighted that this upgraded airstrip should help propel new agricultural and tourism ventures in the region.