Over
25 years after New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan raised the need for
New
Ireland to have an International Airport and finally the Ground breaking
took
place on Wednesday the 15th of July 2020.
Witnessed
by Prime Minister James Marape and 7 state Minister’s including
Minister
for Civil Aviation Captain Lekwa Gure, National Planning and
Monitoring
Sam Basil, Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey, Transport and Infrastructure
William
Sam, Forestry Solan Mirisim, Fisheries Dr. Lino Tom, Finance
Minister
Rainbo Paita and Samarai Murua MP Isi Henry Leonard. It was also a
very
rare occasion where the three local members of parliament Governor Sir J,
Kavieng
Open Ian Ling Stuckey and Namatanai Open MP Walter Schnaubelt
attended
a public gathering together for the greater good of the people of New
Ireland.
Other
Dignataries included China’s Ambassador to PNG HE Xue Bing,
stakeholders
from the Business community, Airport Landowners and 100
participants
of the NIPG Community Awareness program from the Matalai and
Namatanai
LLG’s.
Minister
Captain Lekwa Gure relayed the Kavieng Airport upgrade project will
involve
the upgrade of the existing runway pavement and apron, extension of
the
existing runway by 500 metres, design and construction of the new type B
terminal
which will have a floor space of 2640 square metres, car park and
access
road, construction of perimeter fence around runway extension area,
construction
of NAC staff house, office building, workshop plus power house,
rehabilitation
of NAC facility roads and associated works .Once the runway
extension
and strengthening are completed the runway dimensions itself will be
2.2
kilometres by 30 metres wide and have a pavement classification of 50
which
will be long and strong enough to accommodate Boeing 737- 800 series
type
of aircraft or its equivalent,” said Minister Capt. Lekwa Gure.
The
contract was awarded in March this year to China Railway Construction
Engineering
Group PNG at a value of 98.5 million. “Now that the ground
breaking
is taking place today we expect the contractor to start work tomorrow
and
the clock will start ticking for the next 24 months.”
Prime
Minister James Marape noting the New Ireland Government’s and the
people’s
desire for the Airport Terminal to have a uniquely New Ireland flavor
inspired
by the Provincial bird “Drongo” agreed the terminal building should
possess
the “Bilas” flavor. “We can still relook at the design of the terminal to
incorporate
New Ireland flavor but we will have to put in extra funds from both
the
National Government and the Provincial government to make it happen. It’s
important
that New Ireland must have its own distinct design,” said PM
Marape.
Governor
Sir J’s vision for the International Airport was first raised back in the
1990s,
when he was the Open Member for Namatanai. “I realised that New
Ireland
– if it was to reach its full potential – needed a direct link to the rest of
the
world.
“I
thought then – and I think now – that we need an International Airport
because
of what New Ireland has to offer to the world. And I think everyone
here
today can recognise what New Ireland has to offer.
“As
a tourist destination, New Ireland is at the very top of the list in Papua New
Guinea,
in the entire Pacific. Where else can you get the beauty of mountains?
with
rainforests, pristine beaches with white sand and palm trees, crystal clear
waters
for swimming and world class diving, surfing sites that are the envy of
the
world, and – our greatest attraction of all – people who say hello when you
pass
them on the street. People who shake your hand - instead of picking your
pocket.
“We
want our tourists to visit the people in the village, to stay at community
guesthouses.
Because a person in a village in New Ireland is a member of the
village,
a member of the community. And, in New Ireland, the village takes care
of
its own.
“THAT
is what New Ireland is all about. THAT is what makes New Ireland
unique.
THAT is what we want to market to the world,” said Sir J.
A
cheque of K3 million was handed over to the landowners as partial payment
for
the use of their land, the outstanding will be paid in due course after further
consultations
with the landowners. This includes further compensation for the
delay
in payments.
The
multimillion kina airport project is one of 27 impact projects promised by
the
State in 1995 under the Lihir MOA that will add significant value and match
the
already newly constructed four-lane Kavavu Avenue from the airport to the
waterfront
built by the Government of New Ireland. It is expected to be
complete
in July 2022, two years from now.
It
has taken 25 years to start just 1 of the four major projects under the Lihir
MOA,
this is an obligation of the State since 1995. It is time to restore the
peoples
trust in the Government to meet its promises
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