‘Now is time to invest on Tinian’

With an estimated $3 billion in military and civilian infrastructure development going down on Tinian related to the divert airfield, Philip Mendiola-Long is inviting Saipan businesses to join the gold rush of expected projects on the island.

Speaking before yesterday’s Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Crowne Plaza Resort, the Tinian Chamber of Commerce president said Saipan’s sister island has a slew of immediate needs to accommodate the military buildup on Tinian.

These include requirements on fully furnished AirBNB-style housing for 3-5 years, new hotels, heavy equipment and van, truck, and car rentals, warehouse development, commercial office space development/portable office rental, restaurants/food service, construction safety supply, night entertainment, and day activities like island tours and events.

There’s an urgent need for companies to introduce the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program on Tinian, Mendiola-Long said.

In a follow-up interview after the Chamber meeting, Mendiola-Long said the $3 billion military and civilian infrastructure development could even shoot up to as much as $5 billion, depending on the results of the National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement.

“[There’s] tremendous excitement. Tinian will be an entrepreneur’s Promised Land. If you choose to create businesses that support military installations and/or the construction phases of those installations, you will do very well.”

To this end, Mendiola-Long encouraged Chamber members to join the Tinian Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the planned multi-billion-dollar military projects on the island.

“The planning is still being hashed out by the military so all estimates are what they are—estimates—until finalized through the NEPA process.”

He added that, for the Tinian Divert Airfield alone, a contract of $380 million is being bid out, with Black Micro Corp. the leading candidate as the Guam-based company already has a presence on the island.

“The point is, there is too much occurring on Tinian for CNMI businesses not to at least look at the opportunities there. …One thing is for sure, however, is that Tinian has the attention of [the U.S. Department of Defense] and a commitment to develop there. The environmental, historical, and social impact studies will make the final determination as to how expansive and expensive that development is.”

And what’s interesting is, Mendiola-Long said, development is not only confined to the military designated areas on Tinian.

“Keep in mind, what is developing inside the fence for the military also has an outside-of-the-fence infrastructure component. So Tinian will see great improvements to its infrastructure in the near term, separate and above what the military plans inside their fence. …Both inside the fence and outside the fence needs service providers. Oftentimes, as in Guam, that places a strain on those companies and can’t service both sides. Thus leaving business and future revenue on the table for others to grab.”

He then reiterated his pitch for Saipan Chamber members to join their counterparts in the Tinian Chamber to get a foothold on the future business opportunities available on the island.

“As an organization we are here to help you find opportunities and then mine those opportunities for your current or future businesses. If our CNMI people don’t do it…others will. Don’t wait. Now is the time to invest on Tinian. One thing is clear, other firms from Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, and other U.S. states are already visiting Tinian on a regular basis,” added Mendiola-Long.

Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs special assistant Daniel Aquino also spoke during the Chamber monthly meeting yesterday. Saipan Tribune will report about his discussion in the next issues of the newspaper.