The American Samoa Chamber of Commerce is seeking answers from the Director of Port Administration concerning development plans for the airport and port.
Chamber Chair Ella Gurr told KHJ News that companies currently leasing airport property want concrete answers from the port director as to how their businesses will be accommodated if Port Administration goes ahead with its plans to build a convention center, hotel and other facilities in the leased property area.
Gurr said Director Barney Sene in her meetings with him has said that the airport will allocate them space across the road but she and other tenants want such assurance in writing.
A letter from Gurr to the Port Director outlines these concerns and questions that the chamber has raised.
What is the confirmed source of funding for the port and airport expansion? What is the timeline, scope, and sequencing of the project? How will existing leaseholders and local operators be impacted or displaced? And is Port Administration actively seeking off-island companies to replace businesses that have served the Territory for decades?
Gurr wrote that businesses such as McConnell Dowell, SOPAC, Pago Pago Trading Company, and Laufou Shopping Center, along with many other long-term leaseholders operating in and around the port and airport corridors, have invested heavily in American Samoa. “These companies have built critical infrastructure, provided stable employment, supported local families, and ensured continuity of essential goods and services through both prosperous and difficult times. It is precisely because of these long-standing investments that the Chamber must raise urgent concerns about the direction, transparency, and potential consequences of the proposed Port expansion,” she said.
Gurr believes the Port Administration Director should seek input from the private sector before implementing the expansion plans for the airport and port.
She said in her letter to Director Sene the lack of clarity has created a climate in which local businesses are “effectively unable to plan, expand, or invest responsibly. This uncertainty threatens not only individual companies, but also the broader stability of our economy.”
Using her own company Pago Trading company as an example, Gurr told KHJ News they have plans to build a new warehouse but with the airport plans in the pipeline, it’s not certain what land Port Administration will allocate for them to build on.
Regarding the upgrade of the main port in Fagatogo, she said that there are critical operational deficiencies she feels Port Administration should address first.
These include inadequate lighting for safe and efficient offloading at night, severe limitations in container storage spacе and persistent congestion and logistical inefficiencies that raise costs for businesses and consumers.
Gurr wrote that the Chamber strongly believes that before pursuing a massive expansion Port Administration must first demonstrate progress on these essential, immediate needs that affect the reliability and cost of doing business today.
