Port Admin’s 3rd quarterly report summarizes status of various projects

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Department of Port Administration recorded a total of $2.84 million in revenue collections. This is outlined in the Department’s third quarter report covering April to June, 2022 — which also summarizes the status of Port projects.

One such project is the Apron rehabilitation project at the Pago Pago International Airport, which costs $30 million, with the design completed as well as 76 percent of the construction.

The project was designed by Beca Pacific Inc. and McConnell Dowell constructed the first stage while Paramount Builders is working on the remaining construction of the project.

For the Runway Rehabilitation project the construction is underway at a total cost of $40 million.

Other projects outlined in the report are the Airport shoreline protection project funded by FAA and the design and permitting is currently in progress with a cost of $700,000; environmental costs are $1million and the construction work will cost $40 million.

Regarding the Fuel tank farm relocation, the construction and testing is pending for the project, which is led by the American Samoa Petroleum Coop. 

According to the report the designer is Lyon & Associates while Paramount Builders is the contractor and that funding is from FAA AIP in the form a reimbursable agreement in the amount of $6.2 million.

Among many other projects overseen by the Port Administration is the Ofu wharf extension, which is currently on hold due to funding as a result of a change in scope where the design consultant requested the need for a geotechnical investigation to complete the design, and an associated funding requirement that were not part of the original scope of work, leaving the project at a standstill.

“A proposal to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to proceed with the design using the conservation design approach and moving the geotechnical investigation to a pre-construction phase was considered by the USACE as a good approach considering the remote location of Ofu wharf.

The designer is PPG Consultants and the Department of Interior is to fund the design in the amount of $95,000 and also the $125,000 for the change in scope for benthic survey and there is no funding for construction, says the report.

Furthermore the report says the sunken Liliafao vessel was released a quarter mile from original location, in 200 feet deep water, coast quarter have determined that this is not navigational hazards have not responded to report that was provided to them.

Aquatic Blue Environmental was contracted to remove the Liliafao  vessel at the cost of $200,000 and funding was from a CIP reallocation from the Service Wharf project.

However the removal of the Hawk vessel off coconut point was halted due to the lack of funding, a project that will cost between $2.2 and $3.5 million.