Air Calédonie International introduces new Nouméa-Nadi-Papeete route. Photo: Supplied
More flights on New Caledonia-Fiji route
New Caledonia's international airline Air Calédonie International (ACI) has on Wednesday launched a new Nouméa-Nadi-Papeete connection, days after Fiji Airways also officially opened a Nadi-Nouméa bi-weekly direct flight.
The Nouméa-Nadi-Papeete flight will also be twice a week, the company stated in a release, adding travelling options from Nouméa to these two destinations will be more flexible.
ACI said the latest addition to its schedule will also further establish the company as a regional airline and reinforce historical, cultural and economic ties between the South Pacific islands.
Thanks to the existing partnerships with Fiji Airways and Air Tahiti Nui, It also opens new possibilities for connecting flights, especially to further destinations in North and South America.
Fiji Airways' first Nadi-Nouméa commercial flight (Mondays and Thursdays) took place on Thursday 7 December.
Another incident mars Olympic Games surfing competition on Tahiti's Teahupoo
French Polynesia's controversial judges tower on Teahupoo (Tahiti island), the selected site for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Surf competition, has suffered another setback: last week, a test run prior to building a lighter version of the aluminium tower resulted in the loss of significant amounts or coral, on the reef.
The old wooden judges’tower (left) and an artist’s impression of the new aluminium tower. Photo: ©islandstudioarchitecture
The barge that was supposed to drill holes for the tower's foundation was still too big and ended up scratching and damaging the coral floor.
French Polynesia's President Moetai Brotherson, upon visiting the damaged site, said the latest mishap was once again casting doubt on maintaining Teahupoo as the host site for next year's Olympics surf competition.
He also apologised to local residents, including associations who had been protesting against the new tower 5-million US dollar project and had warned even a smaller barge would scratch and damage the coral reef.
Works have since been once again suspended.
The Paris 2024 Olympics organising committee had ruled the wooden tower previously used on the site for World Surfers League competition did not meet safety standards.
Last month, Brotherson had suggested the Olympics surfing competition could be held on another Tahiti beach, Taharuu.
A few days later, mid-November, Brotherson and the OG organising committee announced new plans for a "lighter" tower with shallower foundations that would also allow the use of a lighter barge for drilling.
Youth and Sports minister Nahema Temarii told local media earlier this week the only realistic option was to maintain construction plans for the lighter tower, but with other building methods.
French Polynesia’s minister for youth and sports Nahema Temarii on 4 December 2023. Photo: Polynésie la 1ère
30 young New Caledonians in New Zealand for holiday-working scheme
A group of 30 young adults has left New Caledonia late November as part of a so-called "VIP" (Volontaires internationaux du Pacifique, International Pacific Volunteers) scheme sponsored by New Caledonia's government.
Under the scheme, selected applicants receive plane tickets and will this year reside and work at a cherry farm, "45 South", in the Cromwell region, under a holiday-work visa.
They will be accommodated, fed and will get a salary from their employer.
"They will meet New Zealanders, Australians, Pacific islanders and South Americans. It's a real opening to the world for them", New Zealand Consul General in New Caledonia Felicity Roxburgh commented.
Most of the group members say this will also be an opportunity for them to improve their English.
This is the first contingent of "VIPs" to take part in the scheme, after a pilot contingent of 15 left last year.
It could be extended to similar working travels in rural Australia, French Polynesia and Vanuatu, and arrangements were being made for New Caledonia to host similar groups from those partners, New Caledonia's minister for Youth Mickaël Forrest said.
New Caledonia's nickel industry accumulates 1.5 billion Euros in debts
New Caledonia's three nickel industry players are currently indebted to an accumulated amount of some 1.5 billion Euros.
This was disclosed during the recent visit in New Caledonia by French economy minister Bruno Lemaire, who travelled especially to assess the industry's bleak situation and offer a rescue plan to avoid bankruptcy.
In the face of what he termed a "critical" situation, Lemaire hoped an agreement involving necessary drastic reforms in terms of profitability, market adaptation and productivity from all nickel mining companies could be signed by the end of January.
The three main nickel producers in New Caledonia are Société Le Nickel (SLN), Prony Resources and Koniambo Nickel SAS (KNS), with short-term financing needs of respectively 493 million Euros, 149 million Euros and a staggering 13.7 billion Euros,
SLN and KNS major shareholders, respectively France's Eramet and Anglo-Swiss Glencore, have already clearly indicated they will stop financing those subsidiaries by early 2024.
New Caledonia holds one of the largest nickel reserves in the world.
During his visit late November, Lemaire suggested that those nickel producers diversify their markets instead of only relying on Asian clients and make the necessary transition in order to produce a nickel adapted to the production of electric car batteries, including with European car manufacturers.
Lemaire also strongly advised not to mix politics and economics in New Caledonia.