SINU Students visits Honiara International Airport Improvement Project
Around 25 Civil Engineering students from the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) attended a site visit to the Improvement of the Honiara International Airport Project site at Henderson today.
The site visit was organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and engineering consulting firm, Gyros Corporation.
Resident Engineer and Consultant for Gyro Corporation Tetsuya Ishikawa talking to the students during the site visit
During the site visit, the students were fortunate to visit the New International Departure Terminal Building Roof, the expanded International Apron, the new constructed Taxiway, and a visit to the construction yard entrance to have a look at the construction’s sites Crushing plant, Concrete plant, and Asphalt Plant.
The students were also briefed on the ongoing constructions for the airport’s Flood Protection Facilities, Dikes and Flap Gates constructed to curtail the impacts of future natural disasters after seeing the impacts of the 2014 Flash floods to the Airport.
Delivering his remarks, SINU Senior Lecturer Faculty of Science and Technology, Cyril Bernard Rachman acknowledged JICA for making the site visit possible.
“Today is a special day as our students get to wear the hard hats and have a closer look at the design in technology involved in this construction project. Hence it provides our students with an immersive experience of the construction site.
We sincerely thank you for opportunities like this to enrich our students’ learning and reinforce the lessons taught in the classroom,” he said.
SINU Civil Engineering students & staff posing for a photo with JICA , Gyros and Kitano staff & engineers
Mr Rachman also acknowledged Gyros Cooperation for its support in the implementation of the engineering program at SINU.
“Our students would not be able to experience this without the generosity of Gyros Cooperation, for opening its door and providing help towards our national universities first ever Diploma in Civil Engineering course. We look forward to further discussion arrangements for first time training with Gyros Corporation,” said Rachman.
Meanwhile, JICASI Resident Representative, Uegaki Motoyuki also acknowledged the students who availed their time for the site visit as he saw it as a practical learning opportunity for them.
He said he is delighted to see students showing their interest in the engineering field as Solomon Islands needs more engineers.
Students who attended the site visit are the first cohorts for the Diploma in Civil Engineering course introduced at SINU on the 9th of July 2021.
By Eliza Kukutu