[?]Completely Off The

Rarotonga Will Be

Air' For Two Years

Prom a Rarotonga correspondent Initial work on the SNZ

3 million-plus international air-

Dort for the Cook Islands will not >egin until early next year, and vhen work does start, Raro onga, the airstrip’s site and also

he group’s administrative centre,

vill be without any direct air icrvices for two years.

Visitors to the Cooks during the wo years will fly to Aitutaki the ilternative site for an international irport favoured by the Cook Islands Government—and then travel to larotonga by sea.

These are two main points to come tut of a meeting in Rarotonga in ilay following the April announce ment that the NZ Government would mild a 7,000 ft international stan iard airport on Rarotonga by 1971 PIM, May, p. 37).

At the meeting were the NZ Minister for Works, Mr. P. B. Allen, he Premier of the Cooks, Mr. Albert lenry, other NZ Government offi ials and, significantly, several rep esentatives of big NZ construction ompanies.

Importance of the airport to the }ooks was best emphasised by the ay on which the meeting was held, t was a Sunday, a most unusual day or a meeting other than a religious ne to be held in the Cooks.

Contractors interested

And the impact of the airport for VL industry was best emphasised by le presence of the construction com any representatives, who had flown rom NZ. With a fat SNZ6 million ontract on the cards, almost certain o go to a NZ company, all six big onstruction companies in NZ are xpected to apply when the NZ Gov rnment calls for tenders within the ext few months.

Other points to arise at the meet ig, which discussed basic problems r hich will come up with the airport onstruction, included; • Specifications and related mtters regarding the rebuilding of ie existing Rarotonga airstrip will ot be available to the Cl Govern lent before November. • Current Cl Government policy ivoured giving NZ business interests rst priority to set up tourist facili

ties, particularly hotels, in the Cooks, • Attempts will be made by NZ construction companies not to upset local wage structures. Cook Islands labour would be paid at current wage rates. • Sufficient numbers of islanders, estimated at about 200, would be available to fulfil contractor’s needs without disrupting the local labour force. • A village of family-type houses would have to be built in Rarotonga to accommodate key personnel and their families from NZ.

Not discussed at the talks was the

question of an American airline fly ing through the Cooks, as well as Air New Zealand, which will use its DCS jets on the strip on weekly service from NZ to North America.

Under air landing agreements be tween the NZ and US Governments, an American air carrier has rights to fly in and out of the Cooks, provid ing it only brings into Rarotonga its own passengers and takes only these passengers outwards, PanAm and Eastern Airlines would both welcome the chance to put Boeing 707’s or “stretch” DCS’s into Rarotonga; it would give each an attractive new stopover.