News

Work on Nausori International Airport to begin soon

September 19, 2018 4:33 am

Work on the Nausori international airport runway extension and upgrade will begin soon following the ground breaking ceremony by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama today.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says this is a new era of development and growth for Nausori proving to be another accomplishment for aviation in Fiji.

He says the project which is estimated to cost around sixty million dollars is the first step towards modernizing Nausori International airport to allow for bigger aircraft carrying more passengers.

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”The upgrade and extension of the airport will fundamentally transform how Nausori airport operates. From the size and weight of the planes it can handle to its ability to host takeoffs and landings even in windy and rainy weather conditions.”

Bainimarama says Nausori airport handles nearly 75,000 international passengers and over a quarter million domestic passengers each year.

Additionally, over 1200 international flights and over 10,000 domestic flights take-off and land in Nausori.

Fiji Airports Executive Chairman Faiz Khan says this will expand when the project is completed by 2021.

”The runway will be extended, it will be lengthened and it will be widened to allow 737 aircrafts to be landing and taking off in Nausori more frequently and without any restrictions because until today our airport runway is not internationally compliant.”

The runway length will be extended from 1670 metres to 2140 metres and widened from 30 metres to 45metres.

Plane taxiways will also be widened and a new parking apron will be created outside to prepare for future phase of planned terminal upgrades.

Attorney General and Civil Aviation Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Fijians should look forward to more exciting times ahead.

”Much longer in five years’ time, we’ll be able to lengthen the runway even further so we can have an aircraft like an A330 landing in Nausori airport because we should be having one day have direct flights from Nausori to San Francisco.”

Once the runway renovation work is completed by 2021, the second phase, the upgrade of the airport to state-of-the art- terminal will begin.