Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang join Commonwealth Ports Authority officials in a groundbreaking ceremony for the paving of an access road to the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport’s commuter terminal on Thursday.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios delivers his remarks during a groundbreaking ceremony for the paving of an access road to the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport’s commuter terminal on Thursday.
THE Commonwealth Ports Authority on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the paving of an access road to the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport’s commuter terminal.
Joining CPA were Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, Rep. Diego Vincent Camacho, Rep. Marissa Flores, Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho and Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan.
Also present were Federal Aviation Administration Western-Pacific Region Director Mark McClardy and Airport District Office Assistant Manager Carlos Salas.
The CPA officials present were CPA Board Chairman Jose C. Ayuyu, Vice Chairman Antonio B. Cabrera, Executive Director Leo Tudela, board members Steve Mesngon, Thomas Villagomez and Joseph Diaz.
The $1.7 million project involves paving an access road from the intersection of Tun Herman Pan Road to the commuter terminal. It is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Airport Terminals Program through the FAA.
The contractor for the construction is Hawaiian Rock Products while the contractor for the design and construction management is Hofschneider Engineering Corp.
In his remarks, the governor said, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. And this is the first step.”
He thanked CPA, especially its airport operation, for taking the first step “to prove to ourselves and to our partners that we can do this, we can all work together to get things done for our community.”
The governor said it’s about time “we get started” in renovating Saipan’s international airport.
For his part, Lt. Governor Apatang thanked Ayuyu and other CPA officials for their hard work and for making the project possible.
“The governor and I know that there are still a lot more to do to improve our airport. And we know that with passion and ownership of this great asset, everyone, including our visitors from other places will remember the great experience of arriving and departing at this initial gateway into the CNMI,” Apatang said.
Ayuyu said the project is very timely because the construction of a new commuter terminal will be completed soon.
He told the federal officials, “Please bear with us — we have a lot of needs here in the Commonwealth. So yes, we are going to follow the road to your office.”
Over the years, he said, CPA has encountered a lot of challenges, but “we are moving forward.”
“If we put our heads together, there’s so much that we can accomplish. Given the fact that there are a lot of barriers in front of us we just have to sit down and talk it out with the idea that we are moving forward,” Ayuyu added.
In his closing remarks, Tudela recognized the hardworking employees of CPA. “They’re the ones that really do the job,” he added.
