‘Economy to dip after typhoons’

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres expects the destruction wrought by two typhoons—Typhoon Mangkhut and Super Typhoon Yutu—in the latter half of the year to affect the local economy’s numbers when the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its report for 2018 next year. He is confident, however, in a quick rebound.

“Obviously, we’re going to see some of [Yutu’’s] effect on our economic growth because for the whole month of November we didn’t have any tourists. Being a resilient community and business, I am confident that we will bounce back,” Torres told Saipan Tribune.

Mangkhut hit Rota in September, while Yutu brought Saipan and Tinian to their knees in October. Rota felt the brunt of Mangkhut on Sept. 10, while Yutu, a category 5 tropical cyclone that’s considered to be the strongest to hit the Commonwealth in almost 40 years, left a trail of ruin on Saipan and Tinian, caused by its more than 180-mile-per-hour winds. Over 1,000 homes were either totally destroyed or had major damage caused by Yutu.

Yutu also caused the closure of the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, leaving the traffic control tower non-operational; that caused hundreds of tourists to be stranded on the island. International flights were cancelled as the airport could only accommodate planes that were bringing in equipment and other aid for relief and recovery efforts.

Prior to Mangkhut and Yutu, the BEA reported that the CNMI economy grew by 25.1 percent in 2017, based on its gross domestic product estimates. The data, which was in stark contrast to more than 10 years ago when the local economy was in a tailspin, showed the CNMI was one of the fastest rising economies among U.S. states and territories for the second straight year.

Torres said the CNMI is coming back from those two destructive typhoons at a much faster pace than when Typhoon Soudelor hit Saipan in 2015. “We’ve seen it [recovery efforts]. Although, there are still some areas that are without power and water, our recovery—and I think we will all agree—is a lot better than Soudelor.”

He credited many groups for the rapid the recovery. “We’re going to continue our working relationships with our federal partners and other organizations. We will continue to foster that partnership to make sure that all the priorities and needs are addressed. And our partners know that we continue to work hard to make sure the recovery continues at the pace that we need.”

New partner

Torres is also optimistic about the recent signing of a joint promotional agreement between the CNMI and low-cost-carrier Skymark Airlines Inc., which hopes to revive the declining Japanese market by offering direct flights from Tokyo to Saipan. Skymark would kick off its operations with charter flights until they could secure and launch regular scheduled flights.

The CNMI and Skymark sealed that partnership early this month, with Torres leading the CNMI delegation that also included Marianas Visitors Authority board chair Marian Aldan-Pierce and managing director Chris Concepcion. They met with Skymark president Masahiko Ichie and other top executives of the company in Tokyo.

Torres said that Skymark is looking to launch its inaugural flight to Saipan by either March or April next year. “They [Skymark] have been working diligently. …Once we get the clearance, we will move forward with the actual date of the inaugural flight.”

Torres added that the government is working to ensure that there won’t be any problems once Skymark starts its operations in the CNMI. “We’ve been working with MVA and our other business partners here to make sure we have enough accommodation for our Japanese tourists when they start flying in.”

The joint promotional agreement between the CNMI and Skymark was a priority of the Torres administration, with the goal of revitalizing the Japanese market and re-establishing economic and cultural ties between the people of Japan and the Commonwealth.

To continue progress

Torres plans to meet with all the incoming members of the Legislature and his administration wants to work closely with them to make sure the CNMI’s economic progress continues. “The people have spoken and I congratulate all the winners that were voted by the people. I would like to meet with them to discuss some issues.”

The local Republican Party remains the majority in the 21st Legislature that will have Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao as the House speaker, while outgoing lieutenant governor and senator-elect Victor B. Hocog as the next Senate president.

“I would also like to congratulate the [GOP] leadership. And, like we have done in the past, we will continue to work with them, to make sure that we have one vision for the CNMI and that vision is to continue the progress that we now have. We want to continue the economic prosperity,” said Torres.

“To make sure that our children are better off today than they were in the past, and also that they be better off in the future as we hand the government back to them when they are ready to take over. Our children are our future. So, we’re going to make sure we’ll continue building a stronger foundation for them.”