Sustained lobbying by local aircraft owners and by the private sector as a whole has been gradually loosening the state’s purse strings as far as effecting repairs and renovation to the country’s ageing domestic aviation infrastructure is concerned.
In his 2013 budget presentation, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh announced that government is allocating $248 million for the rehabilitation of three interior airstrips and the maintenance of 43 others in regions One, Two, Seven, Eight and Nine. Singh named Matthew’s Ridge, Imbaimadai and Kamarang as the three airstrips that will benefit from rehabilitation this year, a sign that the upgrading of infrastructure designed to support more aggressive private sector investment in the interior is the key to state spending on interior projects. Matthew’s Ridge, Imbaimadai and Kamarang are critical
