Tebuteb says $22.76M grant now available for drawdown

Ramon Tebuteb

The $22.76 million grant that the Commonwealth Ports Authority received from the Federal Aviation Administration through the CARES Act is now available for drawdown, according to CPA board’s Financial Affairs Committee chair Ramon Tebuteb.

In his report during a committees’ meeting last Wednesday, Tebuteb said the $22.75 million CARES Act funding is provided on a reimbursement basis, and CPA will draw down funds as expended. He said it’s been available since May 27, 2020.

CPA received the grant offer last April and the grant agreement was executed in May, according Tebuteb at the meeting held at the Aircraft and Fire Fighting classroom at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport. The grant has a four-year performance period and is available at 100% federal share. The funds can be used for any purpose where airport revenues may be lawfully used.

At the same meeting, CPA board chair Kimberlyn-King Hinds urged the CPA management to prepare for this year’s typhoon season. She asked the CPA team to put together an immediate list of priorities outside of what they are currently working on.

“Typhoon season is upon us and to a great extent we still have not fully recovered from Super Typhoon Yutu,” she said in a later interview by reporters.

She said CPA is still waiting to draw down their funds—whether it be insurance funds or Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, or others—to begin addressing some of the issues at CPA.

She acknowledged that the CPA team has already started preparing for the typhoon season with its repairs of the leaking roof at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.

To date, CPA has received a total of $15 million as part of the advance for the Typhoon Yutu insurance settlement, Tebuteb said. As per CPA’s Bond Indenture, Tebuteb said, CPA is required to deposit the insurance funds and that CPA will need to provide certain documents such as project proposals and certified invoices.

On Oct. 27, 2018, CPA issued four emergency notices and emergency expenditure of funds due to Yutu for the Saipan airport in the amount of $2,910,000; Port of Saipan, $300,000; Tinian International Airport, $300,000, and Port of Tinian, $200,000.

As of May 27, 2020, Typhoon Yutu expenditures at the Saipan airport now total $2,846,018; Port of Saipan, $131,371; Tinian International Airport, $282,617; and Port of Tinian, $14,820, Tebuteb said.