NAC reveals K850m committed for airports’ facilities upgrade

 By ARMSTRONG SAIYAMA

AIRPORTS in the country are in dire need of major rehabilitation, National Airports Corporation (NAC) chairman Peter Neville says.

He said the government had committed more than US$400 million (K858 million) in loan funding with the Asian Development Bank to rehabilitate the country’s 22 airports. 

Neville said NAC had purchased three rescue and fire fighting trucks valued at K9 million.

“The three fire trucks you see here are a part of this ongoing exercise to rehabilitate and improve our airport infrastructure,” he said.

He added that other improvements at the Jackson International Airport included a new domestic car park, food court, passenger waiting lounge, domestic terminal public concourse, shaded structure walkways, car booths and a new coffee shop at the international terminal. 

He said these were NAC initiated projects funded from its sources for airport infrastructure, institutional capacity building and customer services improvement programmes.

The major airport projects in the country included:

l Apron extension of Jackson International Airport (Port Moresby);

l Security fencing for Kavieng (New Ireland), Goroka (Eastern Highlands), Gurney (Milne Bay) and Wewak (East Sepik) airports

l Mt Hagen (Western Highlands) airport terminal; and

l Hoskins (West New Britain) runway extension and pavement strengthening.

Neville said the concept of airport city was developed with land use master plans for Jackson, Nadzab (Lae) and Tokua (Kokopo) airports.

“Other airports will follow suit soon,” he said.

He reiterated that NAC strived to improve services, increase financial independence and maintain safety and compliance standards to meet the customers’ expectations.

“This is evident in our efforts in creating customer care and comfort for both corporate and individual paying customers through the different facilities we have developed at the Jackson International Airport,” Neville said.

He revealed that 16 of the 21 airports in the country were certified and their certification programme was continuing.