USTDA steps in to help fund Palau Airport improvements
By Andrew Curran.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded an undisclosed amount of technical assistance funding to the Palau National Aviation Administration to help improve that country's aviation capacity and safety.
The funding will see US entities supporting improvements to Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, also known as Palau/Koror International Airport (ROR). It is the country’s primary airport and only international entry point for commercial airlines.
The State Department agency is the US Government's first mover agency on infrastructure development in emerging markets. The agency simultaneously seeks to promote economic development in those markets and advance US commercial interests.
Palau, formerly part of a US-administered UN Trust Territory, gained its independence in 1994. However, the country continues to rely on the US for financial aid and other forms of assistance.
“Our support to strengthen Palau’s aviation infrastructure using high-quality US solutions deepens our steadfast partnership on matters of mutual strategic interest,” said Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s Deputy Director.
USTDA focus on Southwest Pacific
The USTDA has zeroed in on the Southwest Pacific in recent weeks, attending the recent Pacific Agenda: Investment, Security, and Shared Prosperity Summit in Hawai’i. There, among other announcements, the agency said it would provide early-stage funding to strengthen airport security in Kiribati, improve the reliability of Tonga’s fuel supply, and upgrade Amata Kabua International Airport (MAJ) in the Marshall Islands.
However, the USTDA did not put a dollar value on any of its aviation-related funding packages, including the help it is providing to Palau.
However, it did say the technical assistance will update the airport’s master plan to help it prepare for long-term growth. This will include an analysis of how to extend the existing 2,195 metre runway to accommodate larger aircraft. Additionally, the agency will provide guidance on determining the specifics of airport development needs across the country.
According to Aero South Pacific’s Palau Country Brief, which you can download here, six passenger airlines, including China Airlines, Greater Bay Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Nauru Airlines, Qantas, and United Airlines, fly to Palau. There is no functioning local scheduled passenger airline.
Data from the Palau Visitors Authority reveals 71,681 passengers landed at Palau across calendar 2025. The most arrivals came from China (32.6%), followed by Taiwan (20%), US/Canada (15.9%), and Japan (11.2%).
Due to its remoteness, Palau is reliant on air connectivity to move people and freight.
"Palau’s future depends on safe, reliable and sustainable air connectivity for our people and visitors alike, and this partnership helps us take a major step in that direction,” said Charles Obichang, Palau’s Minister of Public Infrastructure and Industry.
The US Trade and Development Agency did not say when the aviation projects in Palau would start.
Photo: USDTA
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com