Transport Briefs

• A new airport will be laid for Rabaul, possibly at Kokopo. The Papua New Guinea Transport and Works Minister, Mr Jephcott, said the airport would enable Air Niugini to meet future operational re quirements. The airport at present in use was not suitable for night lan dings, nor for larger aircraft, which Air Niugini would soon be using. • A new landing barge, The Yaubula, built at the government shipyard in Suva, has been launched and is now in operation. The New Zealand Government paid for the barge and its equipment under its aid scheme for the Pacific. It was the first vessel built under the scheme outside NZ. The Yaubula, 43 metres long and nine metres wide, will cary cargo to and from the outer islands. • The Trust Territory Govern ment is having six field trip vessels built in Japan to replace older ships, which will be sold for scrap or used in smaller operations. Government of ficials recently visited Japan to in spect shipyards which had submitted bids to build the vessels. The shipyard selected will construct six identical vessels. • Lan-Chile airline, from April I, added a second weekly flight to its route Papeete Easter Island Santiago. This second stopover, by Boeing 707, is in view of expected extra traffic on the route following the withdrawal since February of Air France from the Tokyo Papeete Lima run. The Lan-Chile Thursday and Sunday calls at Easter Island permit a minimum stopover of three days, with the flight from Tahiti taking about six hours. • The Papua New Guinea Na tional Shipping Corporation, which is owned by the government, will operate on a strictly commercial basis. The government has approved the purchase of 12 ships for tne cor poration. They will operate on ma jor routes servicing PNG. Some of the ships will be built at Madang, but will not be available for some time. In the meantime, the cor poration has placed an order with J.

L. Primrose, of New Zealand, to build six vessels to meet urgent re quirements.