The United States and New Zealand have announced a combined US$60 million (about NZ$101.5 million) package to upgrade a port on the remote Cook Islands atoll of Penrhyn, in a project the two governments say will improve shipping links for the country’s outer islands and support the development of deep-sea mineral mining.
The Penrhyn Port Project was announced by Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Palau ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting this week, according to a joint statement.
Under the arrangement, the U.S. Department of State, working with Congress, will contribute US$50 million (about NZ$84 million), and New Zealand will contribute NZ$17.5 million (about US$10 million). …