The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Hon. Mark Brown, departs today for Tongareva (Penrhyn) together with the United States Ambassador to the Cook Islands, His Excellency Jared Novelly, and the New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Her Excellency Catherine Graham, to meet with the people of Tongareva, to discuss the Omoka Wharf Project.
The visit is the first shared step on the ground since the Cook Islands, New Zealand and the United States announced their intention to work together on a safe and reliable wharf for the Cook Islands’ northernmost island, made in the margins of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau, in August. The visit marks the start of the feasibility and planning work that will shape the project, grounded in the priorities of the people of Tongareva.
For the Cook Islands, the wharf is first and foremost a lifeline. Almost everything that reaches Tongareva, whether it be fuel, food, building materials, medicines, and disaster relief, comes ashore through a landing built more than eighty years ago. A modern, resilient wharf at Omoka would mean safer landings, more reliable delivery of essential supplies, better access to services, and stronger connections between the northern Pa Enua, the rest of the nation and the region.
The Cook Islands has been clear that the project must be implemented consistent with Cook Islands law, policies and regulations, and be integrated into the country’s own long-term development plans rather than a standalone activity. The wharf sits within a wider national effort to strengthen the resilience of the Pa Enua and long-standing commitments under the country’s population and infrastructure plans to halt and reverse outer-island decline.
“This wharf is a lifeline for Tongareva, and it belongs to Cook Islanders,” said Prime Minister Hon. Mark Brown. “We are leading this work on our own terms and as part of our own priorities and our national plan for the Pa Enua. This visit is about listening to the people of Tongareva, understanding the site, and doing the careful feasibility work first, so that what we build serves our people for generations. This is a partnership about people, connectivity and services – about helping our northern communities travel, return, and remain on their islands with dignity and opportunity.”
Engagement with the people of Tongareva on the project is Cook Islands-led, and will continue as the work progresses. The feasibility study will assess the technical, environmental, social, commercial and operational aspects of the project, including opportunities for Cook Islands firms, workers and suppliers to take part.
“New Zealand is proud to partner with the Cook Islands and the United States on a priority the Cook Islands has identified for its own people,” said New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Catherine Graham. “We bring our experience in delivering infrastructure across the Pacific, and we are looking forward to managing the implementation of this project, in partnership with the Cook Islands. I look forward to seeing the site and meeting the community again.”
“The United States values its long friendship with the Cook Islands and our historic ties to Tongareva, where United States personnel built the island’s original wharf and airfield,” said United States Ambassador Jared Novelly. “We are pleased to support this initiative to improve connectivity and services for the people of the northern Cook Islands. From enhancing the Cook Islands government’s ability to monitor what is happening in their own waters to potential commercial and tourism opportunities it is important to me that we all continue to work together carefully, consistently, and collaboratively.”
The three partners emphasised that this visit is part of the broader feasibility and planning phase. Decisions on the final scope, design and delivery of the project will follow the feasibility study.
