An important provincial airport in Solomon Islands, which has been closed for several years over royalty payment demands by landowners, will be reopened temporarily this Friday for a prime ministerial visit.
The land owning groups on which Malaita's Gwaunaru'u Airport is sited, have signed a deal with the government in Honiara to allow the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and 14 local MPs to attend provincial celebrations in Auki.
The deal will only see the airport opened for government use over the weekend but the prime minister's office says it could be a first step towards a longer term arrangement with landowners.
Malaita is Solomon Islands most populous province and used to be connected to Honiara via several flights a day from Gwaunaru'u airport.
Now the only public transport to and from the capital is by ferry.
