Guyana Allows Chinese Company to Resume Airport Project

Guyana's government says a Chinese company expanding the main airport runway in the South American country has been allowed to resume operations after agreeing to correct numerous safety violations.

The announcement Saturday follows an accident last month that killed one worker and seriously injured another.

Officials said China Harbor Engineering Company must also ensure its employees have proper work permits and pledged to expedite their processing.

The government halted work late last month on the 3,200-foot (975-meter) extension of Cheddi Jagan International Airport's main runway to allow site inspections.

The US$138 million project was originally slated for completion in September but is not expected to be ready until 2017. The government has complained about missed deadlines, high costs and what it claimed was failure to do proper engineering studies.