Upgrade of West Tinian Airport terminal starts

After years of struggling to finance the upgrade of West Tinian Airport, work on the construction of a new $20 million dollar runway will soon begin as the Commonwealth Ports Authority board and local leaders moved to get the project going.

Currently, Tinian’s airport terminal is undergoing an upgrade with total expansion project cost of $475,000. The plan now includes a redesigned departure area, a small-enclosed restaurant, a separate building for a rental car concession and a covered walkway to connect it all.

Tinian board member Raynaldo M. Cing sought the support of his fellow board members for the financing needed to get the project moving. After the groundbreaking ceremony on the terminal expansion was held in January 1999, Mr. Cing pursued a much larger project, the construction of a new runway.

While Tinian’s current 6,000 foot runway is well suited to the regular inter-island travel from Saipan, Rota and Guam, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the West Tinian Airport master plan which called for an 8,600 foot runway that can accommodate larger aircraft and direct charter flights from various cities in Asia.
But officials still need to raise $24 million to complete the airside improvements.

The West Tinian Airside Improvement Project involves the construction of a new 7,800-foot runway, and the construction of two connecting taxiways. Expected to be completed in 18 months, work may be completed by mid 2001 if the project begins in February.

Getting the support of the CPA board members was easy as the FAA already stepped in with a grant close to $4 million. Mr. Cing then sought the help of Tinian’s elected leaders led by Mayor Francisco Borja, who had pledged $3.4 million in local funding from its Capital Improvement Project money.

Initially, the Tinian local leaders proposed modifying the plans to extend the existing runway before building a new one but was later on scrapped as redesign and expense factors made it impractical.

But FAA agreed to allow the construction of a 7,600 foot runway for larger aircraft but lower the price of the complete airside improvements.

By July 1999, FAA had offered three more grants bringing in a total grant amount to nearly $9.4 million. In October, the delegation came through with additional funding pledging an additional $6.5 million in local CIP funding to be used the absence of further grants from the FAA.