Subprojects funded by the Asian Development Bank's multi-tranche funding facility loans for the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program (CADIP) advancement are on schedule to be completed within the facility's availability span.
The multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) is one of the ADB's modalities for assisting clients with their medium to long-term investment program or schedule.
Bashirullah Khpalwan, the project team leader for the ADB-backed Civil Aviation Development Investment Program, said CADIP is a multi-tranche financing facility that has been introduced in three tranches as planned.
CADIP is scheduled to be completed on November 24, 2021.
The 21 national airports that handle the majority of the country's domestic passenger and freight traffic are the target of this investment program.
He stated that CADIP's Tranche 1 was approved on December 1, 2009, and was completed in December 2015, while Tranche 2 was approved on November 25, 2013, and has made more than 95% implementation progress and is expected to be completed in September.
Tranche 3, the MFF's final tranche, was approved on March 2, 2017, and all contracts have been awarded, with the exception of Kavieng Airport, which will be awarded in 2020.
“The Kavieng Airport is on a critical path to completion and all other sub-projects under Tranche 3 are on track for completion as well within the MFF availability period of November 24, 2021.
The executing agency for CADIP, the National Airports Corporation (NAC), has agreed with the civil works contractor in Kavieng to an accelerated schedule to complete the entire scope of the project within the availability of the MFF,” he said.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdown, the CADIP team and civil works contractors aim to make strides in 2020, with positive results so far. In terms of cumulative growth and milestones, CADIP Tranche 3 has proved to be one of the highest performing projects in the PARD portfolio in 2020. The investment scheme, according to Mr Khpalwan, is closely associated with the PNG Government's Development Strategic Plan 2010–2030 and National Transport Strategy, which both recognize essential air connectivity to rural areas as a national priority.
