Air Transport Suriname Improves Sector
More Safety and better Connectivity
eyesonsuriname
Amsterdam, dec 13th 2024– The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a US$25 million program to improve Suriname´s air transportation sector, increasing its safety and connectivity.
The program approved by the IDB’s Board of Executive Directors will support actions to improve compliance with international civil aviation safety and security standards and increase the quality and resilience of air transport infrastructure.
It will benefit approximately 465,000 air passengers per year, including inhabitants of Amerindian and Maroon communities, with better and reliable access to isolated regions, improved safety conditions for operations, reduced time and cost of cargo and passengers transporting, and access to health services. The entire population of the Amerindian Village of Kwamalasamutu, composed of 1,308 inhabitants, will benefit from this program.
Women, people with disabilities, and the Amerindian population will also benefit from improved delivery of essential services, such as education and health care, and expanded employment opportunities.
In addition, the program will invest in air navigation, communications equipment and digital technology for several airfields under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation, Communications and Tourism, thereby improving connectivity and safety, which will benefit Maroon and Amerindian communities, and private sector development in the country’s interior.
The operation plans to implement targeted interventions at Paramaribo international airport, improvements to the Zorg en Hoop domestic hub landside facilities and navigation equipment, and a pilot intervention to modernize the Kwamalasamutu aerodrome to support all-weather operations.
It will also finance measures to improve the sector’s institutional and legal framework, including restructuring and strengthening of the civil aviation system, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority´s regulatory capacity and sustainability policies, and gender and diversity measures.
Moreover, it will contribute to strengthening air transport control and operations with measures to enhance air navigation capacity, efficiency and surveillance, establish an independent Air Accident Investigation Authority, and to define a new international standard-based fee structure and collection mechanism.
The US$25 million IDB loan has a 23.5-year repayment term, a 7-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).
In Guyana, an effort to support Government’s endeavours to improve effectiveness and accountability in the delivery of public services to citizens through the implementation of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has engaged the services of a top consulting firm specialised in this area to provide necessary support.
A technical team from Delivery Associates has made three visits to Guyana. The first was to carry out diagnostic analysis for Guyana to see where opportunities for improvement lie. The second was to share the results of its findings; and the third was to present a model adopted by Governments around the world. This model is often called a delivery unit or an implementation unit.
A statement from the IDB local office on Wednesday said most Governments placed too much emphasis on policy and less on the importance of effective project implementation. As such, it was noted that the delivery unit model was a simple but rigorous approach, in which a systematic process, through which system leaders drive progress and achieve results – in this case specifically of capital projects carried out by the Government.
The IDB said this model was characterised by its emphasis on defining a set of limited clear priorities and goals focused on outcomes for citizens, and rigorous data-based monitoring of progress and coordination among involved parties. Through implementation of these principles, the model aims to clarify what success means for the Government and thereby increase the speed of delivery of benefits to citizens.
The objective of this unit, according to the organisation, is to help Government agencies to deliver concrete results in priority goals through planning, performance insights, problem solving, capacity building and coordination. It is a lean structure meant to support ministries, and not to take over their roles nor to add additional layers to the Government’s bureaucratic structure.