Long-delayed airport enclosure project now moving along
Airport officials are in Honolulu today to finalize and, hopefully, sign a contract with Boeing for the $14.3-million enclosure and air-conditioning of the Saipan International Airport’s departure area.
Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Carlos Salas said on Friday that construction of the long-delayed project could begin next month if a contract was signed as planned.
Construction was initially scheduled to begin in January 2005, but funding issues caused some delay.
Salas explained that CPA originally budgeted $10.1 million for the federally funded project, including the $1-million design contract with Boeing. But due to the high cost of needed technology, the construction cost shot up to $14.3 million, resulting in a budget shortfall of $5.2 million.
CPA is sourcing the additional cost from its future grant entitlements from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Salas said the FAA would release $2.6 million from the ports authority’s entitlement for fiscal year 2006 and another $2.6 million from FY2007.
The airport project includes enclosing and air-conditioning the departure area, as well as the installation of new counters, an online baggage conveyor system, and a state-of-the-art explosive detection system.
Salas said there is also a lot of redundancy in the system to ensure that airport operations are not hampered in case of a power outage or mechanical breakdown.
The construction period is 20 months.
