The opening of a new safety and fire fighting facility in the Marshall Islands, means the United States has now injected more than 50 million US dollars into airport improvements there.
The Amata Kabua International Airport's new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting facility, built at a cost of 14 million US dollars, is aimed at improving safety at an airport that is a regular refuelling stop for planes crossing the Pacific.
A U.S. Embassy official in Majuro, Eric Watnik, says the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, in addition to the fire fighting facility, has also invested in repaving the runway, installing runway lights, buying fire trucks and provided ongoing training for safety and security personnel.
The FAA controls flights in the airspace of the Marshall Islands, which is a former U.S. territory.
The bulk of 14 million dollar cost of the new facility was for landfill to create the site on what had been lagoon.
