Hela govt spends K7mil on land to extend airport

THE Hela government has spent almost K7million to acquire customary land for the extension of the Tari Airport and work is ready to start, Hela Governor Philip Undialu says.
He said the provincial government had also allocated funds to start work on a new terminal facility at Komo Airport after discussions with ExxonMobil PNG Ltd.
“Tari Airport extension work is ready to kick- start,” Undialu said.
“The contractor has already established on site with temporary camp, crushers and equipment and stock pile is going on. Hela provincial government has so far spent K7million to acquire customary land for a few metres’ extension so we can qualify to receive bigger planes.”
Undialu said the provincial government was waiting for the National Airports Corporation (NAC) to agree on their increased scope from single-storey building to two storeys for the terminal facility.
“Also the Komo International Airport remains our most important asset that we will also utilise.
“I have spoken to the managing director for ExxonMobil and they accepted our request to allow the public to utilise the airport.”