Honiara Control Tower Fully Operational

HONIARA, September 15, 2020 – The Solomon Islands Roads and Aviation Project (SIRAP) is committed to improving operational safety at the Honiara and Munda International Airports.

One such initiative was the renovation of the Control Tower at the Honiara International Airport.

The renovation took only three months and was completed in March 2020, with the renovations including replacement of five air conditioning units, new flooring, and structural strengthening.

A certificate of completion was issued on 27th March after a final inspection.

Kitano Construction Corporation was engaged to complete the renovation work which cost approximately SB$890,000.

Operations at the Honiara International Airport were non-compliant due to the Control Tower not being fully utilised due to previous structural damage.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations moved out of the Control Tower to a ground floor office in December 2018 which caused lots of difficulties to operations.

The Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Communication and Aviation (MCA) had requested the project provide urgent repair of the ATC tower.

The Permanent Secretary of the MCA, Mr Moses Virivolomo, said the Honiara Control Tower was one of the top five priority projects for this year.

“The MCA has re-commenced using the Control Tower from mid-July 2020,” he said.

The renovated Honiara Control Tower is aligned with SIRAP’s objective to improve operational safety and oversight of air transport and associated infrastructure.

SIRAP’s scope of work include Honiara and Munda airports infrastructure investments and Malaita road improvement and maintenance.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is the Executive Agency. The MCA, and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development are the Implementing Agencies with support by a Project Support Team based in Honiara.

SIRAP is financed by the World Bank. It is part of the Pacific Aviation Investment Program (PAIP) which is investing in infrastructure, capacity development, and regulatory oversight to improve operational safety and oversight of international air transport infrastructure across the Pacific region.

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Press Release