The official opening of the new Tomodachi International Airport Terminal just outside Lae city, will go on as planned after the landowner group of the land where the airport sits on were convinced to remove the blockade, which they put up this morning to the airport terminal. According to the representative of the Orognaron Clan Mr. Simeon Toboly, the blockade set up in front of the entrance into the parking area, was to show their frustration on a legacy issue which he said dates back to the early 1970s. Mr. Toboly said the frustration was over a land lease agreement that was signed in 1973 with the administrator of the territory of Papua New Guinea (PNG), which was later honored by the PNG government after independence. However, he claimed that the State stopped doing this in 2013, and with the new terminal to be opened soon, that made them angry because they still don’t know why the agreement was no longer honored by the government. That led to them putting up the blockade. Nevertheless, the blockade was eventually removed, all thanks to proper negotiations and mutual understandings reached. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Airport Corporation (NAC) Mr. Manuai Kametan said they met with the landowner group a couple of days earlier. “We had a little bit of an issue the last couple of days which we normally have, this is not new. Each time we have an airport opening we have similar situations arising, it’s really how best we manage that, and we did try our best and we had meetings prior to today,” said Mr. Kametan. “This morning we had landowners’ senior group came up and we had a meeting in our office, and we basically tried our best to iron out the difference that we have and what we can do for them and what they can do as landowners to ensure that the opening of the airport facility goes without hiccups tomorrow.” He said the successful outcome of the negotiation today was very encouraging for NAC because all parties went away satisfied after the small ceremony, where the NAC presented bales of rice, sugar, flour, a cow and K5, 000 to appease the landowner group after the negotiations this morning. “They were happy with that, and we assured them that at the end of the project, once the terminal is operating, they will be given first priority in terms employment and contractor work. We will try to help them in that space in terms of capacity building and capability.” The official opening of the newly furbished international terminal will take place tomorrow, Monday 02nd October.