Food Court proposed for the airport to serve travelers and the public

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Lemanu Administration is proposing a food court at the Pago Pago International Airport. Commerce Department director, Petti Matila says the project “will serve the community and the traveling public.”

The project was first revealed in a DOC notice published in the Samoa News, as a paid advertisement, for several days earlier this month. The notice states in part the department was to submit — around May 14th — a request to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the release of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the amount of $245,441 Under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

The proposed project would provide seating and tables that will surely benefit the public by people congregating throughout the airport, thus encouraging social distancing, according to the notice, which was seeking public comments at the time, for the request to HUD for release of the funds. Comments were accepted up to May 13th.

Asked for some information on the concept of this project and where it will be located at the airport, Matila told Samoa News that the project will be a food court plaza with modern facings to complement the newly renovated airport airline office area and gift shops. 

“The project serves the community and the traveling public. It also supports local businesses within the airport premises.  The project will be located within the open area between the airport gift shops and airlines office space,” the Commerce director said yesterday morning.

Asked how this project will help and support local businesses, she explained that it provides “additional space to serve the general public and creating more opportunities for entrepreneurship and small businesses at the airport.”

Responding to questions about the project going out for bid, she said the “project will go through the procurement process to secure a contractor for construction as soon as we complete the Release of Funds requirements as you saw on the notice we've posted on Samoa News.”

“Once we complete that process, then we're ready to proceed with the Procurement process. We hope to complete this project within a year, but that may change depending on unforeseen circumstances,” she said.

Asked if this project, which is funded with Program Year 2020 CDBG funds, “will compete with the restaurant” at the airport, Matila responded that, “I can only comment on CDBG funded projects. The airport restaurant is not funded by CDBG.”

Samoa News notes that DOC administers the federal CDBG funds as well as the Community Service Block Grant.