TINIAN leaders on Tuesday emphasized the economic benefits of the divert airfield project.
In their remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony for phase 1 of the project, Tinian Mayor Edwin P. Aldan, Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider and Kimberlyn King-Hinds who represents Tinian on the Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors, thanked the U.S. military for bringing employment and business opportunities to the island.
Aldan said the divert airfield project has stirred the interest of local businesses on Saipan, some of which have already expanded their operations to Tinian.
“I am certain that this project will [require a] labor force, which will bring more employment for our people moving forward,” he added.
Aldan said Black Construction Corporation, the contractor, has reached out to his office for assistance in hosting a job fair at Tinian Youth Center.
The Senate president, for his part, said the divert airfield project “will catapult the economic recovery of the CNMI and signify an economic diversity in terms of the activities that will [ease] the hardships that these islands have long endured.”
He also took the opportunity to congratulate Black Construction for winning the bid for the project.
King-Hinds said the groundbreaking ceremony was a significant day not just for the people of Tinian, but also for the entire people of the Commonwealth.
“A thriving economy on Tinian benefits not only the people of Tinian, but all the people of the Commonwealth,” she said.
Since the ports authority signed the lease agreement with the U.S. military, “we’ve seen new businesses open on Tinian from big businesses like Triple J Wholesale to K Town Coffee to our small locally owned businesses owned by young Tinian entrepreneurs.”
“Tomorrow,” she added, “Black Construction will be having a job fair open not only to the residents of Tinian but to anyone in the Commonwealth who is looking for a meaningful job opportunity in construction. At the end of the day, this has always been the benefit of the bargain that the people of the Commonwealth, especially the people of Tinian, [have] been waiting and longing for. Not a welfare economy but an economy that provides every single citizen in these islands a shot at a better life that can only come with a strong, self-sustaining economy.”
King-Hinds likewise welcomed “our friends at Black Construction to Tinian where in no time, I’m confident that you will feel like part of the family. Your success is our success and we are here to help you in any way that we can.”
According to Capt. Timothy Liberatore, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas, the construction projects “represent the first of several significant capital investments in the CNMI.” These include the $83.4 million phase I of airfield development, which will provide site development for Air Force access, including a cleared, level site with road, fencing, earthwork, drainage, water well, and utilities; and the $78.4 million parking apron development to construct aircraft parking apron and taxiways, with shoulders and utilities.
Liberatore said the total contract amount awarded to Black Construction Corp. is $161.8 million. The contract completion date is Oct. 9, 2025.
Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, commander, Joint Region Marianas, noted the importance of the collaboration between the U.S. military and the elected officials of the CNMI.
“Today is yet another bold step we take for the defense of this region and we could not do it without you, our friends and partners in the CNMI. Thank you for your continued commitment to homeland defense,” he said.
Edwin P. Aldan
