Chinese Government provides grant for Kanton Island Airstrip and Bridge Rehabilitation Project Feasibility Study

In May 2021, the Government of Kiribati publicly acknowledged that the Chinese Government had provided a grant for a feasibility study of the Kanton Island Airstrip and Bridge Rehabilitation Project. This disclosure was made in response to an inquiry from an international media outlet (Reuters). The monetary value of the grant commitment from the Chinese Government is unknown. According to the Government of Kiribati, the rehabilitation of the site is designed to support commercial air travel between Kiribati's islands and turn Kanton into a ‘high-end niche tourism destination’. The airstrip, formerly a major stop on commercial trans-Pacific airline flights and a military aircraft base during World War II, is now rarely used. The site currently has a single usable runway, officially measuring 6,230 feet in length, although the total unimproved length is closer to 8,000 feet, based on satellite imagery. The ribbon-shaped island, which has a total area of only around 15 square miles and a population of approximately 20, is part of Kiribati's wider Phoenix Islands group, none of the others of which are inhabited. This project has aroused international suspicion and concern because, once the existing runway is upgraded, it will be long enough to support the deployment of fighter jets. If it is further upgraded and extended, it would be able to support the deployment of large transport aircraft and maritime patrol aircraft. However, a considerable investment in supporting infrastructure would be necessary to sustain any kind of meaningful, longer-term deployment by military aircraft, including hangars, fueling and maintenance facilities, and accommodations for aircrew and ground personnel.

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