The Rural Airstrip Agency (RAA) aims to restore more than 120 airstrips around the country to so that rural communities can have access to education and health services.
RAA CEO, John Bromley, said this in Western Province recently.
Bromley was in the Province to welcome the first flight into Balimo, in Middle Fly, which had been closed for five years.
Bromley said Western Province’s unique geographical composition of vast flood plains, rivers and mountains made it one of the most difficult areas to access.
He said like many other rural communities, the need for air services was crucial.
“We have some donor support and government support to see the Western Province developed and reconnected through the use of airstrips,” said Bromley.
The RAA is a not for profit organisation based at Goroka with a primary purpose to facilitate and conduct maintenance and restoration of rural airstrips.
These are aimed at improving aviation safety and providing access to services for remote communities such as health, education, community development and commercial markets for cash crops.
“We want to see communities get the service that other areas in non-rural Papua New Guinea get. So we want to see rural communities get health services, education services, and community development services, and other Government services that they are entitled to.”
The RAA is a Private-Public Partnership between Mission Aviation Fellowship and the PNG Government to restore PNG’s unusable airstrips.
“Currently we have about 125 airstrips that are on our interest list. Some of those are on established maintenance program, others are on negotiation with local members and provincial governments and are on a wait list for a maintenance program,” said Bromley.