Shipping’s Hotel on target

By Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu 12 July 2018, 12:00AM

The Samoa Shipping Corporation will be the next owners of a hotel located at the Mulifanua wharf. 

This was confirmed by Samoa Shipping Corporation (S.S.C.) General Manager, Papali'i Willie Nansen, who said the service is for the convenience of the travelling population.

 “The Bed and Breakfast Hotel project will start in a few months and we anticipate having it where the old facilities were,” he said. 

“Let me make it clear this is not to compete with our local businesses, rather we want our wharf to provide the services for the convenience of our people.”

The project is the second phase of the Mulifanua wharf project after the remodeling which cost the S.S.C. just under $200.000.  

 “The new remodeling of the wharf is part of the S.S.C.’s plans to keep up with the changes of today,” he said. 

“We stand by our commitment is to provide the best service for Samoa and in doing so, we invested in the necessary upgrades which cost S.S.C. close to $200,000."

“I mean we want to move forward like everyone else and the Mulifanua wharf is turning out to be exactly as we planned a one stop shop. We now have a branch of the bank, automated teller machine, stores and new restrooms. We’ve got the businesses that can cater for the needs and wants of tourists as well as waiting passengers.”

The ultimate objective of the State-owned company is for it to become self-sufficient and have the ability to improve terminal services and provide safe vessels for the people to travel. 

“The terminal renovations are a facelift which will further add value to our service and bring new businesses for convenience and comfort of the travelling public who will be visiting the domestic port 365 days a year,” he said.

Giving figures on the number of people who use their services, Papali'i said the number of people travelling to and from Savaii increased over the years. 

“From between December 19, 2017 and January 1, 2018 some 34,509 passengers and 3,640 vehicles used the Savaii-Upolu service. During those times, the Samoa Shipping Corporation scheduled extra trips to accommodate everyone,” he said. 

According to Papali’i the facelift took about six months and the entire project was run by their own staff and saved the organisation a lot of money. 

By Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu 12 July 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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