Cook Islands Times reports that between $30-$40 million is required to rebuild the roads.
According to Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Sir Terepai Maoate, China was the only country willing to provide a soft loan facility to the Cook Islands.
“This is why it is important that we have a good relationship with China, he said.
He was referring to one of the reasons to proceed with the signing of the Chinese $9 million loan for the multi-sports complex and the Ministry of Education building.
If the Cook Islands had withdrawn from the loan, the Chinese government could be reluctant to be a development partner for future projects or financial assistance.
The Ministry of Works has obtained quotes from various road construction companies such as V&B who built the Aitutaki Airport, the Fiji Ministry of Works, and the Chinese, all of whom have quoted the road reconstruction at $761 million per kilometer.
Wind power could be supplying up to 30 percent of power on Rarotonga in the near future. But it depends on the landowners who are being asked to provide the land where the windmills are to be installed.
According to Cook Islands Ministry of Energy official, Tangi Tereapii, they have met with landowners last year to ask for permission to install the measuring equipment.
The monitoring was supposed to run for two years but with the urgency for renewable energy sources, and since the data collected already is promising, they have had to fast track the project to compete with the rising fuel costs.
