Koror, Palau – Plans to extend the runway at Palau International Airport to accommodate larger aircraft have been shelved due to prohibitive costs, President Surangel Whipps Jr. announced at a press conference on June 26.
President Whipps revealed that the latest cost estimates, presented during the recent Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) with the U.S. military, ranged from $2 billion to $3 billion. These discussions revealed the expansion was “not feasible at this time,” Whipps said.
Previously, President Whipps had expressed interest in finding partners to extend the runway, allowing Palau to receive larger airplanes and become a more attractive destination for airlines.
With the current runway limitations, Palau is exploring alternative solutions. “I look at this as a problem,” Whipps stated. “How can we develop and diversify despite these constraints?”
“We need to identify the right aircraft with suitable engines” to operate within the existing runway length, Whipps suggested.
While Peleliu State Airport has a sufficient runway length, transporting passengers to Koror, the main island, presents a logistical hurdle.
Owning an airline or relocating the airport to a central location on Babeldaob Island was also mentioned as a possibility, but both options face significant costs.