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Aviation Tuna measure Talks on key issues P30
Industry Sugar turns sour P32

SPORTS OPINION Islands Business

Project opens up tourism possibiities

Airports hub around the gas project.
Indian company, Essar Projects, has
been contracted to strengthen the runway
and build a new control tower for around
upgrade US$1million.
Further to the west at Vanimo on the
border with Indonesian-occupied Papua
the PNG government has given 35 hectares
for PNG million from the Fiji Government. for an airport expansion project.
Lands and Physical Planning Minister
Justin Tkatchenko said the land would be
given to the National Airports Corporation.
Two other airport projects – at Vanimo,
in West Sepik Province and Kagamuga in “Under this government, departments
By Netani Rika the Western Highlands – are underway are working together, this allows for
and will allow access to Boeing 737 air- economic empowerment of the different
PAPUA New Guinea has embarked on an craft. Currently Air Niugini and Airlines departments.”
ambitious project to upgrade rural airports PNG operate the Bombardier Dash-8 Civil Aviation Minister Alfred Manasseh
in an effort to develop the tourism industry aircraft to most remote airfields in the said that the expansion of the airport al-
and allow easier access for investors. country. Air Niugini operates the Fokker lowed for economy empowerment in the
This will include the construction of 70 and the larger Fokker 100 to some of town of Vanimo. “As more people begin
international airports at Mount Hagen in the larger airfields. travelling into the province the NAC will
the highlands and Lae on the coast. Yopo said the use of larger aircraft to bring in more airplanes to accommodate
A new terminal building at Goroka Air- remote destinations would see a reduction the number of passengers travelling in,”
port in the Eastern Highlands is nearing in flights from five to three. Manasseh said. “The expansion of the
completion and with its associated runway “The project will also enable night land- airport will allow for bigger planes to land
improvements will be able to accommo- ing facilities as well as early morning take there.”
date larger aircraft. offs,” Yopo said. “It’s about putting an Vanimo and Wewak airports are fre-
International flights will also be possible extra effort into a regional hub like Mount quently used by Malaysian and Indonesian
from Goroka once the US$25million im- Hagen because for the highlands region businessmen and workers involved in
provement project is completed by Chinese (the destination) is critical.” the logging industry. The Vanimo Airport
contractor, COVEC. Because of its proximity to the national expansion work is being carried out by
National Airports Corporation, Chief Liquefied Natural Gas project, Kagamuga Global Constructions.
Executive Officer, Richard Yopo, said NAC Airport in Mount Hagen has also been At Lae, consultancy on the new US$215
was committed to improving airport infra- identified as a potential international hub. million Nadzab International Airport
structure throughout the country. This will allow gas workers to fly directly funded by the Japanese International
“The project will be funded by the from Australia – Sydney, Brisbane or Dar- Cooperation Agency started last February.
Asian Development Bank and will see win – to the PNG highlands without the “Within five to six years, we are ex-
the upgrading of the aircraft pavement, overnight stay in Port Moresby. pecting the new airport and new terminal
a new terminal building and associated A similar concept is used by Freeport building to be available to everyone,” JICA
works,” he said. Mining which operates an international representative Shigeru Sugiyama said
COVEC was awarded the contract de- airport at the remote town of Timika in “That will boost the economy in Morobe
spite a court action in which it was found West Papua to enable easy access for its (of which Lae is the regional capital) and
guilty of illegally extracting road-building workers. also the entire nation – that’s what JICA
material owned by local landowners. Jus- The Exxon Mobil operated US$19 bil- wants to see.”
tice William Neil ordered COVEC to pay lion PNG LNG Project was designed as an The project is scheduled to end in
US$8million – the largest payout in PNG integrated development to commercialise August 2020 and provided terminals for
history for illegal extraction – to a Chimbu Papua New Guinea’s gas resources. It has domestic and international passengers,
landowning unit for the removal of rocks, come under difficult times after opera- upgraded runways and taxiways with
sand and gravel. The same company lost tions started in the middle of 2014 and night landing capabilities. The upgrade will
its contract on the Kings Road upgrading LNG was shipped to customers in Asia. allow Air Niugini’s new Boing 787 Dream-
project in Fiji in 2006 over irregular pay- In 2016 Exxon Mobil produced 7.9 mil- liner to operate in and out of the facility.
ments, reimbursements and remunera- lion tonnes of LNG, an increase of 14 per Design and construction Supervi-
tion highlighted by the Public Accounts cent from the original design specification sion consultancy has been awarded to a
Committee. of 6.9 million tonnes per annum (MTA). Japanese joint venture between Oriental
The project was part of phase three of Despite the financial difficulties the PNG Consultants Global Co., Ltd. and Azusa
the Fiji Roads Upgrading Project (FRUP), Government has remained committed to Sekkei Co. Ltd.
funded by a $70 million ADB loan and $55 developing Mt Hagen as an international r netrika66@gmail.com

Islands Business, January 2018 27