PUBLIC SERVICES was under pressure yesterday to explain why its expensive consultants had failed to come up with favoured options that are likely to shave millions off the airport runway repair bill.
Former pilot Deputy Jan Kuttelwascher, whose motion in December sent the department away to think again in such a way that £5m. might be saved, said the States had wasted money.
An estimated £1m. has been spent on consultants for the project so far.
And it emerged yesterday that Blue Islands was not consulted over the latest runway options.
Deputy Kuttelwascher believes that the entire venture was flawed from the start because the so-called Pavements Project Board, formed in 2006, was not up to the task.
‘It was the board set up to get the ball rolling, there were a couple of lawyers and deputies, but nobody with any practical aviation expertise,’ he said.
He could not understand why, through the life of the project, advice had been flown in before local expertise had been sought.
‘Nobody in the department knew anything about the subject, so they just went to consultants,’ he said.
‘Before you bring in people from the outside, make sure you don’t have someone who can help do the job. There were people around here the whole time who could have been a help. It’s daft, they never look, they never ask, and it has happened before.’
He said that the Public Services report and the subsequent debate revealed the lack of real understanding of technicalities.
‘I don’t know why they wanted to do it like that, there was a lot of extra runway that would have had absolutely no effect on landing distance,’ he said.
‘The report itself was so technically flawed I wondered who wrote it – what was put in was obviously second or third-hand so I decided it to take a look and scrutinise it myself.’
He said the confusion had brought on yet more confusion.
‘Public Services was using words and it didn’t know what they meant – people were talking about things they didn’t understand.’
Deputy Kuttelwascher said he had previously hoped his plan would save the island a sum closer to £10m.
‘£5m. is only the first saving after all, that’s the 300,000 tonnes of infill material that is no longer needed,’ he said. ‘It’s a bit of a watershed, isn’t it? It’s just a pity they have spent so much already.’
He said some consultancy had been justified, but it was necessary to first establish what questions they should be asked.
‘It is an issue for me – how can you commission a board to consult when they don’t know the issues themselves?’
He suggested that departments request experts to come forward through the Chamber of Commerce or the media in future.
The alternative option of using EMAS – crushable concrete paving designed to stop the wheels of runaway planes – was also promising, he said, but was flawed because it did nothing for planes that undershoot the runway. It could take years to be approved, and would be more expensive.
Blue Islands Chairman Derek Coates yesterday said he had not heard anything about the runway plans for some time.
‘This is the first time that we’ve heard about EMAS, or any of the options or financial implications in respect of the airport runway,’ he said. ‘An aviator’s viewpoint on the options in respect of our aircraft types will be essential once we have received consultation documents with the available options to consider.’
Public Services was approached for a comment but failed to respond.
Article posted on 4th July, 2009 - 2.30pm
Most Commented: