Transcript
Ten million US dollars has been spent on upgrading a domestic runway servicing the western provincial capital Gizo and on an overland road from the International Port of Noro to Munda. But the main focus has been the upgrading of the airport at Munda with $US 6million already spent on extending and upgrading the runway and a further $US6million approved this year for navigational lighting, a perimeter fence, and two second-hand fire engines. Despite the massive injection of aid funding, the airport will still not be a fully functioning international airport until a terminal is built, and that is not on the plans.
"To put it in perspective it's more than we spent in Cook Islands in the 2014-2015 financial year," Terence Wood said.
Terence Wood is a research fellow at the Australian National University and a contributor to the New Zealand Aid Development Dialogues. He is sceptical about the return on investment from the Western Province infrastructure project.
"So for that amount of money you'd want to see some major economic dividends for the Munda runway in Solomon Islands and the trouble is that we haven't yet and we probably never will."
The chief executive of Solomon Airlines Gus Kraus has also expressed reservations about the usefulness of the airport. He says what he finds odd is that no one is talking about the need for an international terminal at Munda.
"People seem to be not trying to put the airport terminal into the equation but there's no point in landing a jet there without proper facilities to cater for them whether they're there to wait or clear customs or immigration or whatever is the requirement you've got to have a terminal that can take that size aeroplane."
But in the Western province, the airport development is being received with much excitement.
"The opportunity is phenomenal I think any operator within close proximity of the Munda airstrip will definitely see the benefits of this," said Belinda Botha.
Belinda Botha is the owner of Dive Munda her operation is five minutes walk from the apron of the newly upgraded Munda airport.
"It not only has great potential for growing and expanding our guest and our tourism base but also creating new opportunities so we're all very very excited about the prospect and we are looking forward to expanding our business."
But this expansion could still be a long way off for local tour operators like Ms Botha as even with the additional upgrades scheduled for completion in June next year, the Munda airport will only be attaining emergency alternative status. However New Zealand High Commissioner Marion Crawshaw says there will be immediate benefits from the upgrade especially to airline operators who currently have to carry up three tonnes of extra fuel per flight because the closest emergency alternative runway to the Honiara International Airport is two hours away on the island of Santo in Vanuatu.
"So that will enable them to carry more freight and or passengers and it improves substantially the financial viability of the airline which we hope eventually will bring down the cost of fares."
But Gus Kraus says he does not foresee any change being made to airfares as a result of these "economic benefits" to the airline.
"In the long term future if Munda became a real international airport with proper tourism infrastructure built in the Western area, once there's more people flying into Solomons and the aeroplane's fuller then we can translate that to some savings to the travelling public."
The head of the Western Provincial government however is unfazed by the considerable investments which would need to be made to enable Munda to become an international airport, including a terminal. Premier Wayne Maepio says his province already has the only other international sea port in the country at Noro which, thanks also to the New Zealand aid project, is now linked by an upgraded overland road to the Munda airport.
"This is a very important infrastructure development and my government wants them to quickly finish it so that it can be used to further the development of our province in the West."
Terence Wood argues that trying to improve and promote international flights into the country is like putting the cart before the horse.
"These are not the main impediments to tourism or to exporters in Solomons Islands so they're not the main impediments to economic development in Solomon Islands. The main problems are local infrastructure like ports and shipping lines and other issues such as clarity of land tenure."
The Solomon Islands Permanent Secretary of Aviation, Moses Virivolomo says his ministry is committed to ensuring New Zealand's investment in the sector is not for nothing.
"We plan to develop an aviation sector and currently, we are setting up a SOE to run the airport management sector and we're looking at the health and reforms in the airline as well. other airlines will come but we have a functioning airline and it can fly the distance we want it to fly so all these things come together."
Meanwhile, New Zealand is in talks with the Solomons' government about upgrading three more provincial airports to enable them to take larger domestic aircraft.
