Reserves will meet $1.85M airport bill

Press, 30 June 1982, Page 6

Reserves will meet $1.85M airport bill

In an unprecedented move. Christchurch Airport reserve funds will foot the entire $1,849,000 bill for runway extension navigation aids, such as landing lights, without a refund from the Government.

The Civil Aviation Division normally pays for such equipment. But Christchurch City councillors said yesterday that they were willing to pay the extra cost to obtain the extension, which will make the runway only 4m shorter than that at Auckland Airport. In submissions to the Government in 1980. the City Council said that navigational aids, then estimated to cost about $750,000. could be financed locally if their cost blocked approval of the runway project. In its approval of the runway extension, the Government has taken the council up on that suggestion, the public utilities committee was told.

The cost of navigational

aids is included in the total $7.5 million project cost.

“It is better to spend the monev for our own good." said Cr Rex Lester, the committee’s chairman. The Mayor of Christchurch. Sir Hamish Hay, spoke briefly to the Minister of Civil Aviation (Mr Gair) yesterday. “He made it pretty clear that unless the council was willing to go along with the proposal, with 3 per cent cuts in Government spending it would have been unlikely that approval for navigational aids would have been forthcoming." Sir Hamish said. Councillors said that the precedent should give them a stronger argument for a fairer apportionment of landing charges, instead of having much of their former share diverted to other airports. Sir Hamish said that he had also spoken to a Civil Aviation Division official yesterday about the forth-

coming review of airport financing. “It could be a totally new ball game, to use his term of financing airports.’’ he said. “Things such as landing lights could be a charge against the airport account, instead of the airways account (Civil- Aviation) for instance.”

Under present planning. Christchurch Airport could have about $1 million as working capital after the project is completed. Design work on the next major project, a $l2 million second storey for the international terminal, is expected to start in 1987.

Before the Government's differential policy on land-ing-charge • distribution started two years ago. Christchurch Airport retained 37.39 per cent of the charges It now gets only 12.17 per cent. Wellington Airport retains 51.32 per cent for airport purposes, and Auckland retains 39.15 per cent.