Kiribati has Bonriki International Airport (TRW) on South Tarawa and Cassidy International Airport (CXI) on Kiritimati, plus nineteen domestic airports in the outer islands. Aviation provides vital regional and international connectivity for Kiribati, and is essential for the import and export of time-sensitive commodities and emergency supplies. It’s also a lifeline to access essential services, complex healthcare and social integration; and a prerequisite for tourism development.
Ensuring sustainable connectivity by air and upgrading the road between CXI and the main community of London is seen as essential infrastructure to enable wider economic development in Kiritimati. Reliable connectivity between Kiritimati, both domestically and internationally, is also a prerequisite to enable internal migration in view of rising sea-levels.
The new US$60M Kiribati Kiritimati Infrastructure Project (KKIP) is being established by the World Bank. Its primary objective is to provide efficient, safe and resilient road and aviation transport connectivity into Kiritimati and between Cassidy International Airport and London; to improve airfreight access; and, in the case of an emergency, to respond promptly and effectively to such a crisis.
International sea access to the island is through the Kiribati Port Authority jetty which consists of a 220 metre wharf with an 80 metre pier head. Due to its exposure to westerly swells, it’s only accessible to larger ships and more land is required for container storage. The Government is considering development of a new port at an alternative site.
By air, Kiritimati is connected to Nadi and Honolulu (HNL) via a weekly flight operated by Fiji Airways.
However, the CXI-HNL route is passenger only, with a Boeing737 being the largest scheduled aircraft type operating at CXI. The government wants to upgrade CXI to allow for last point of departure status to the US to meet US Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Authority requirements, which would allow for air-freight from CXI to HNL. Air Nauru provides a weekly service between Brisbane, Nauru, Tarawa and a weekly Tarawa-Kiritimati domestic service. The Government anticipates one day extending the Tarawa-Kiritimati route to HNL. CXI is also a designated alternate airport for emergency landings on the South Pacific-North America route, providing an important diversion capability for larger aircraft on an occasional basis.
In 2011, New Zealand’s government provided a NZ$17 million grant to resurface CXI’s runway. However, the runway surface is now showing signs of cracking. The condition of the runway will be assessed as part of an “Aviation Masterplan for Kiribati” being prepared under bilateral arrangements with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Kiribati’s government aspires to increase GDP through tourism. Expanding aviation access to Kiritimati, which has vast natural resources for marine recreation, is seen as an inter-related development priority.
Further, there are opportunities for export growth associated with commercial aquaculture and marine products, which benefit from quick delivery options, such as air freight. Currently, CXI does not meet FAA and TSA requirements for international air freight into the US, particularly HNL, which is about 2150 kilometers from Kiritimati (or about three hours flying time). Meeting the requirements to enable international air freight from Kiritimati into the US would reduce economic distance and provide additional economic opportunities.
In general, Kiribati’s transport sector is critically exposed to the effects of climate change, given the low-lying nature of the islands. Emerging climate and disaster risks include a high risk of tsunami hazard and coastal flooding, and a medium risk of heat hazard. These hazards will result from increasing air and sea surface temperatures, increasing average rainfall, and more occurrences of extreme rainfall events and very hot days. The social, economic and environmental implications of climatic changes and hazards are multiplied when overlaid with high levels of vulnerability.
Sea level rise poses an existential threat to low-lying islands. The Government is making contingency plans for evacuating to places with greater capacity to withstand climate change impacts. One of those contingency plans is for climate-induced migration to Kiritimati, which includes large investments from development partners. As part of these plans, KKIP would support “no-regret” foundational infrastructure for transport connectivity.
