Page 31 - IB MAY 2017

Aviation
Regional airlines ink flight deal

Heavy

lift The new agreement will

of foreign fishing boats
TWO of the region’s smaller airlines have be good news for crew
who have had to wait
signed a deal which will link three regional long previously to get
home.
destinations and a metropolitan business
centre.
The deal between Air Kiribati and Solo- Photo: Invictus
mon Airlines will see a new service link-
ing Tarawa in Kiribati with the Solomon
Islands capital, Honiara.
The flight will begin in Brisbane, Aus-
tralia and hop to Honiara before going Gerbers’ views were shared by his Air throughout the island state using the
through the major international hub at Kiribati counterpart, Tarataake Teannaki, De Havilland Canada Twin Otter and its
Fiji’s Nadi International Airport for the who said said his airline was excited to Chinese variant, the Harbin Y-12. Last
northern leg to Tarawa. be working with an airline partner which November the Solomon Islands and Kiri-
Kiribati Minister for Transport and understood the travel needs of both the bati signed a new Air Service Agreement
Tourism Development, Willie Tokataake, i-Kiribati people and their national airline. (ASA) and Memorandum of Understand-
said the collaboration was important in “This service will be a major step up and ing (MOU) which paved the way for the
its capacity to significantly boosts aviation will give the Kiribati people new options to new service.
access into his country. travel beyond our islands,” he said. n Source: Solomons Airlines/ Air Kiribati
“There is no doubt this new agree- Air Kiribati operates regular flights
ment will boost economic development
opportunities and in particular tourism
and export opportunities for Kiribati,” the
minister said.
Fiji Airways and Our Airline also offer A N N I V E R S A R Y
services through Kiribati’s Bonriki Inter- A N N I V E R S A I R E
national Airport using Boeing 737 aircraft. ‘ REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Solomon Airlines is likely to use its Air- ...There is Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development Project
(RFP17/035)
bus A320 on the new service flying pas- The Pacific Community (SPC) would like to invite interested enterprises to submit a pro-
posal for the Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development Project.
sengers and freight into the tiny atoll state. no doubt The Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems Division (FAME) of the Pacific Com-
Tourism operators and fishing compa- this new munity (SPC) has launched the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZM-
nies have in the past called for increased FAT) funded Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development project (PacAqua). In order to
increase and improve economic and nutritional gain from aquaculture in the Pacific, aqua-
services to and from Kiribati in order to agreement culture be developed on a business-like footing, be it private sector or community led.
The Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development project aims to increase adoption of
grow these two important industries. and enhance business acumen among aquaculture operations, and increase uptake and
The large number of foreign fishing crew will boost adoption of improved aquaculture practices. Under this project, the FAME Division will
flying in and out of Tarawa along with i- economic provide business mentoring and training, capacity development and technology transfer in
feed, seed and broodstock management to selected enterprises and partners.
Kiribati who work overseas has bolstered The Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development project will work with existing enter-
the use of air services. development prises including farmer, grower, processor, exporter associations and NGOs that are inter-
ested in developing and expanding their business capacity and operation.
But tourism operators say there are not The 17 Pacific Island Countries whose members are eligible to apply include: American
enough flights to cater for visitors while ... in Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall
Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau,
fishing companies want freight capacity to particular Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
fly products to Australia and Japan. Copies of the ‘Request for Proposals’ (RFP) can be downloaded from the SPC website:
www.spc.int. For any additional information or clarification on the RFPs, send an e-mail
Solomon Airlines chief executive Brett request to procurement@spc.int quoting RFP17/035 in the subject line.
Gerbers described the deal as an impor- Completed proposals should be emailed to procurement@spc.int with the heading
tant step. export ...
“Our partnership with Air Kiribati is tourism and ‘ “RFP 17/035 – Sustainable Pacific Aquaculture Development Project”
Or by courier to:
an important one and we very much look Pacific Community (SPC)
forward to working together to see this Procurement Unit – RFP 17/035
Private Mail Bag
become a success,” he said. Suva – Fiji
He described the service as more than All proposals should reach SPC before 4pm Fiji Time, 2nd June, 2017
just a link between two nations. “It is also
an avenue for both nations to grow and No submission shall be made or communication undertaken directly with SPC staff on
this procurement.
prosper as we walk forward together.”
Islands Business, May 201731