Major improvements at Nandi Airport

Press, 25 July 1989, Page 37

Major improvements at Nandi Airport

A major facelift is underway at Nandi Airport. The first stage of the SF7 million refurbishment will involve the expansion of the terminal building, roads and carparks and the general beautification and landscaping of the area.

A new wing is being built for domestic arrivals and check-in with new seating arrangements. A new transit and VIP lounge will hold about 1000 people, three times the size of the existing one. The main feature of the transit lounge will be an authentic Fijian canoe under a pyramid-shaped skylight. Other Fijian artefacts will also be on display. Access to the lounge will be by escalator. Running in tandem with the project is a $F2.2 million modernisation by Air Terminal Services, approximately $F500,000 of which is being spent on new check-in facilities.

Air Terminal Services (Fiji) chief executive, Mohammed Aziz, said the extensions to the airport building

would allow check-in positions to be increased from 14 to about 24, eliminating the problem of congestion. The check-in facilities are likely to be completed in August and the new equipment, bought mostly from the United States, is expected to be in Fiji within six months. Part of the ATS work includes spending on new machinery and equipment and the ATS kitchen, which provides 7000 to 8000 meals a week, will also be upgraded. Air Pacific’s regional manager in New Zealand, Mr George Dyer, said that he was "delighted” that Nandi’s terminal and ramp handling facilities would be improved, enabling a more efficient check-in for passengers and baggage handling. In another move, the Fijian Cabinet has agreed to Air Pacific’s buying Civil Aviation Authority’s shares in Air Terminal Services, Ltd. Air Pacific is to buy 50 per cent of the shares now held by CAAF the ATS Trust would retain the remaining 50 per cent.