PNG needs $800m airport upgrade: authority

PNG needs $800m airport upgrade: authority
By PNG correspondent Steve Marshall

Last year an investigative report by the ABC exposed a number of serious deficiencies within Papua New Guinea's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).Now the CAA says it needs nearly $800 million to urgently upgrade several airports around the country or the industry itself will be grounded.

PNG's rugged terrain means aviation is the backbone of the nation's transport system, but now many of the country's runways cannot handle new aircraft like the larger Focker F100s.Nine airports across PNG have been singled out for urgent upgrades at a cost of more than $US500 million.

The Government has known about the need to upgrade for some time, but no money was put aside in this year's budget."Unfortunately I don't have the required funding at this stage," Transport Minister Don Polye said. Mr Polye is instead seeking funds from elsewhere, such as foreign aid donors.Failure to raise the money will see PNG's aviation industry grounded."If we want those airports then we have to pay the price to get them," CAAs CEO Joseph Kintau said."If no then the entire civil aviation system can stop, rather then risking people's lives."Mr Polye agrees with Mr Kintau's assessment.The CAA has a long history of funding problems.Its air crash investigation unit has not been able to carry out full investigations on fatal accidents for the past nine years.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... tion=world

[RyanShort1]

So does that mean that they might be more open to some cash trades for scrap metal?

Ryan

I worked with a bloke in the Queensland Police in 1990 who resigned and went to a career in aviation in PNG. He was killed in an accident about 3 years later.

[bdk]

The Government has known about the need to upgrade for some time, but no money was put aside in this year's budget."Unfortunately I don't have the required funding at this stage," Transport Minister Don Polye said. Mr Polye is instead seeking funds from elsewhere, such as foreign aid donors.Failure to raise the money will see PNG's aviation industry grounded."

Gee, we knew about this for years and did exactly nothing about it. Now we want someone else to bail us out!

Sound familiar? Did these people move there from California or something?????

How are they going to get all those visitors in to see "Swamp Ghost" to generate a massive influx of tourist dollars if they can't even keep their airport going?

[bdk]

P.S. I know that "Swamp Ghost" is no longer on "display." And where did the edit button go?