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CPA asked to pick up tab on costs of project design
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Posted on Mar 18 1999
Rota Mayor Benjamin Manglona has appealed to the Commonwealth Ports Authority to shoulder first the cost of architectural and engineering design of Rota International Airport to save the island’s tourism economy.
Due to the urgency of carrying out the repair on the airport, Manglona asked the ports authority to proceed with the A&E design since the amount would be reimbursed later by his office from the covenant funds earmarked for the project.
Manglona has made his request in a letter sent to CPA board chairman Roman S. Palacios and executive director Carlos H. Salas. He has also sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration seeking assistance on the repair of the airport as the occupancy rate of the island’s hotels has already dropped below 50 percent.
Continental Micronesia has terminated service on the island-municipality of Rota because the airport has been found slippery for the use of jets when the runway is wet.
Study showed that resurfacing must be done which involves the sandblasting process costing some $1.5 million.
Officials of the island are hoping that the resurfacing of the runway may entice Continental Micronesia to resume operations. However, Continental has not made any commitment that it will provide service to Rota once the airport is repaired since it has already drastically reduced operations in the CNMI due to Asia’s financial crisis.
Salas had earlier said the repair of Rota runway is one of the main priorities of CPA because of the safety issue.
Since the island-municipality relies heavily on tourism as its main source of income, Manglona said many businesses have been suffering partly due to the limited number of airlines servicing Rota.
The Marianas Visitors Authority has been marketing Rota as an ecotourism destination because of its pristine beaches, mountain trails and undisturbed environment with various attractions such as bird watching, golf and marine sports.
