Latest Vanuatu airport woes unrelated to earlier problems

Transcript

The World Bank says the latest runway issues at Vanuatu's Bauerfield Airport are not part of the temporary repairs undertaken three months ago.

The airport's runway is to fully upgraded from later this year with the World Bank providing a $US59 million dollar interest free loan.

Some airlines have not used the airport for months because of the runway issues and last week Air Vanuatu was forced to stop services while more temporary repairs were needed.

Airports Vanuatu, the airport's operator, has criticised the initial repairs, saying they were not up to standard, but the acting Pacific director for the World Bank, Lasse Melgard, told Don Wiseman the latest problems were not related to the earlier patch job.

LASSE MELGARD: The Vanuatu engagement investment project which is the full name of the engagement to upgrade Bauerfield is 59 and a half million US dollars credit to the government and it was formally signed in June of 2015 and we have since then gone through all the preparatory works to get the project started. Now the very important key focus of the project is the full rehabilitation of the Bauerfield runway and this work we are hoping to bid or invite for bids in the course of October with a view to nominating a contract to the winning contractor at the end of the year.

DON WISEMAN: What was the World Banks involvement in the patch up job that was done back in April?

LM: The project as all projects of course are implemented and managed by the government. That patch up job this year was financed through this project. So when the patch that needed repair was discovered we offered the government our support in terms of financing and also in the procurement process to find a contractor that could be mobilised quickly and do the repairs so that the airlines would start flying again.

DW: So were you suprised to hear last week that there were holes already appearing?

LM: The most important thing is I think to note that the new patches in need of repair that were discovered last week were not the repairs, or not the parts of the runway that were patched up earlier this year. It is a new part of the runway and it is a part of the runway that we had not identified as one that  was in major need of repair earlier this year. And it has actually deterioated faster than we had anticipated. So yes it was certainly unexpected but we are confident that with the maintenance routines put in place and the sort of more stringent monitoring of it by airports Vanuatu limited that any further maintenance recquired will be undertaken on an urgent basis.

DW: Airports Vanuatu have said that they felt like they were misled over the project.

LM: Is this in relation to the patch up work or the project more generally?

DW: I think in terms of the patch up work.

LM: So the contractor that was mobilised to do the patch up work certified the work that they undertook for 12 months and I think that led to the impression that the whole runway would hold up for 12 months but of course the work that the contractor undertook and that they certified were just those areas that they identified earlier this year. So the certification if you like did not apply to the whole runway and in fact the contractors where quite clear that the whole runway would need to undergo regular routine maintenance and inspections.

DW: So this more major project you hope to be talking to tenderers by the end of October. When do you expect construction can start?

LM: We are looking at compressing the procurement process as much as possible because it really is key to get this full rehabilitation work underway. If the process moves forward as fast as we are hoping we would be able to award the contract in December. And the contractor would then mobilise at some point early next year.

DW: And the $US 59 million we are talking about, now that is a loan, a soft loan to Vanuatu?

LM: That is right?

DW: And they can repay that over what period of time?

LM: So the terms of the loan is 10 years grace, 40 years maturity with a 0.75 percent service charge so it is essentially an interest free loan.