The cost factor for the repair work at the Aropa Airport in Kieta in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) continues to delay the maintenance and improvement work at the airport. This has deprived the people of Central Bougainville to airline services, especially by Air Niugini to the region. The Minister for Civil Aviation Walter Schnaubelt, when responding to the Member for Central Bougainville Simon Dumarinu during question time in parliament, said that the Aropa Airport has cracks on the runway which needed fixing. These cracks were caused tremors and places a safety risk for airplanes and their passengers to use the airport, thus, resulting in the airport not operational. The minister said that the airport is the responsibility of the National Airports Corporation (NAC) and he will have them look into this and how best they can work towards fixing the runway at this time because the main funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), so to engaged contractors for airport developments in the country, is still pending. Minister Schnaubelt said Aropa Airport is one of five airports in the country earmarked for development, but that funding could be delayed for work to begin, which could mean sourcing funds elsewhere to fund the repair work. “We need to look whether the cost to fix it is going to be more, or do we wait until the tender process to complete and put full cost towards the major construction on the airport and the runway, said the minister. If the tender process is going to take a bit longer and there is a need for the airport to operate sooner, then we will look at the cost factor. I will discuss that with the government on ground and see how NAC can work with them to fund the repair work, just to get the airport operational again. Member Dumarinu said the airport is vital to Central Bougainville in terms of service delivery and therefore, the return to full operation is something he is looking forward to, so he very much needs that assistance from the Papua New Guinea National Government.