Tinian land leaseback needed for 2 crucial projects

The construction of two crucial environmental projects is one of the reasons why the CNMI government wants to lease back properties on Tinian.

Acting Gov. Diego T. Benavente, who met with U.S. military officials last Tuesday to discuss the leaseback agreement, said that Tinian’s solid waste facility and a wastewater treatment facility would be constructed in the area that is currently being leased by the U.S. military.

“The most important thing is the solid waste, the Tinian landfill, and the sewer treatment facility that needs. These are very critical projects for Tinian and, hopefully, are considered in the leaseback agreement,” said Benavente.

He said these projects would not start until the government reaches an agreement with the military on land use.

He said that the government also wants to use the leased area for other economic development projects.

Earlier, Tinian senator Joseph M. Mendiola, a member of the five-member team negotiating the terms and conditions of the leaseback agreement, said the government would try to get the largest possible area from the military.

He said the government has various plans for the land, which is currently under a 50-year lease by the military. These include the construction of a hotel resort and a golf course.

The CNMI is seeking an extension to the Tinian leaseback agreement, whose initial 10-year term expired last Aug. 8.

Aside from the extension, the government also wants to amend some of the terms and conditions of the 1994 agreement.

Under the 1994 agreement, the CNMI government is only allowed to use the leaseback properties for agricultural and grazing purposes. The government now wants to use the property for commercial and other activities.

The CNMI’s Covenant with the U.S. allowed the U.S. military to lease 17,799 acres of land and waters on Tinian, 177 acres in Tanapag Harbor on Saipan, and the entire Farallon de Mendinilla, which has an approximate area of 206 acres.

The federal government had paid $19.52 million for the lease of the lands, which remain effective until 2028.

In 1994, the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of Defense signed a leaseback agreement to allow the Tinian government to use a portion of the public lands leased to the military.

The leaseback agreement has since been amended, leaving only about 5,800 acres of land located in the middle of the Tinian covered by the agreement.