News

The United States and Australia announced on Sept. 2 at the Pacific Island Forum that each country will donate funding for the Pacific Islands, for a total of $580 million.

Qantas will double its direct service between Brisbane and Koror to two return flights a week during the peak season, after signing a new agreement to continue operating the Palau Paradise Express.

Line crews from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. have pushed forward with grid restoration efforts across Rota, successfully bringing the total number of energized customers on the island to 442 as of early September.

The A. B. Won Pat International Airport Authority board of directors awarded two concession contracts during a special board meeting on Sept. 3.

Lawmakers are considering new legislative mandates that would require all shipping containers arriving on island to be fitted with standardized high-security seals, addressing vulnerabilities in maritime cargo inspections and bolstering efforts to prevent illicit drugs from entering the territory.

The United States Department of Interior announced an advanced payment of $105 million in Section 30 funding will be provided to the Government of Guam on Sept. 15.

Cherokee Nation Government Solutions LLC of Tulsa, Oklahoma; SSE BB&E JV LLC of San Antonio, Texas; and KIRA Services LLC of Juneau, Alaska were awarded a $400 million “multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for civil engineering services [in the] Pacific,” according to a Sept. 2 release CHamoru Standard Time from the U.S. Department of War.

The Guam Visitors Bureau will welcome more than 200 travel trade professionals, media representatives, and digital influencers to the island for the Guam Mega Familiarization Tour, scheduled from Sept. 3 to Sept. 7. The five-day initiative is designed to highlight Guam’s tourism offerings while establishing direct business connections between local commercial operators and international travel distributors.

The Marshall Islands joined with National Guard leaders from Guam and the state of Nebraska in Majuro on Aug. 25 to sign the first State Partnership Program agreement, becoming one of a handful of countries globally to partner with two National Guard units.