NMI businesses bid for more DoD contracts amid tepid tourism market
BY MARK RABAGO Saipan Correspondent
SAN ROQUE, Saipan — Speaking on April 23 at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Economic Forum at the Kensington Hotel, Lt. General Laura L. Lenderman, deputy commander of the Pacific Air Forces; said more businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands are bidding for U.S. Department of Defense contracts.
She said in the past year, PACAF, with the help of Glenna S. Palacios, contractor to PACAF and a former special assistant to the governor for Military Affairs; and the NMI Small Business Development Center Network, helped more than 200 small businesses prepare to deal with the federal government.
In partnership with the NMI SBDC, she said the local vendor footprint has grown in the past year and PACAF is seeing more NMI businesses bidding on contracts. “We are very supportive of SBDC’s focus on increasingThe Pacific Air Force's deputy commander speaks remotely at the forum. Photo by Mark Rabago efforts in getting more businesses online to do business with the federal government.”
Lenderman said the aim is to “work together and look beyond these ongoing projects to posture for more opportunities.”
She said the 356th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Group has been contracting with local businesses. PACAF is leasing a warehouse on Saipan to store and maintain critical equipment for the entire Micronesia region.
Plans include similar efforts to secure warehouses and dormitory accommodation in Tinian and Rota, according to information shared at a Society of American Military Engineers February lunch in Guam.
“There is opportunity for more storage and even some maintenance activities that we are working with Northern Marianas Technical Institute and Northern Marianas College to make sure the curriculum will give your people a shot at helping the industrial base,” Lenderman said.
Marianas Pacific Management (which focuses on storage and logistics), Hong Ye Construction, Ambyth Shipping, and Triple J Enterprises Inc. are among companies that have been provided “support resources and services for our airmen during our many exercises,” she said.
PACAF has also advocated to the Pentagon to place a full APEX Accelerator in the NMI. The APEX program offers training and guidance to small businesses.
Lenderman said during the Q&A portion there have been “no indications to increase a permanent military presence” in the NMI … but “the region will experience a rise in military exercises and large-scale rehearsals, such as REFORPAC,” this summer. “Additionally, ongoing runway projects, along with storage and sustainment plans for prepositioned equipment, will likely lead to an increase in contractors and contract opportunities to support these expanded activities across the CNMI.” See Summer military exercises and forces will flood islands
During the tourism discussion, Jamika R. Taijeron, managing director of the Marianas Visitor Authority; said a confluence of bad events affected tourism.
In Korea, airline mergers, a Jeju air crash, and leadership changes at T’Way resulted in suspended or reduced flights. Due to the worldwide aircraft shortage, she said securing flights is now ultra-competitive, she said.
Japan outbound travel is still 40% lower than pre-COVID levels and Japanese travelers are choosing closer, more affordable destinations. For China, the NMI has gone from five direct flights in 2018 to zero and travelers now transit through Hong Kong, Korea, or Japan, adding cost and complexity. The EVS-TAP visa-free program still exists but has been disrupted by a recent executive order, Taijeron said.
While those factors are beyond the NMI’s control, she detailed five trends the NMI can deliver on. “Global travel is changing. People want experiences, they want healing, connection, culture, and meaning.”
The trends are Wellness and Healing, as travelers look for holistic nature-based activities; Sustainable Travel to destinations that support the environment and local communities (as Palau has done) Educational Travel, offering learning for kids by partnering with schools or offering history and cultural workshops; and Remote Work and Experience-driven Travel, from marine eco-tours to Chamorro and Carolinian workshops.
David B. Tydingco, managing director and CEO at Valley of the Latte Adventure Park, and chairman of the Tourism Policy Committee of the Guam Travel and Tourism Association, said the challenge Guam’s tourism industry faces is it has become secondary and sometimes irrelevant due to Guam’s buoyant defense industry.
He said there has also been a paradigm shift on how tourists come to the Mariana Islands.
“Before, there were travel agents with them. Today, there are a lot of [fully independent travelers] and we need to figure out how to communicate to the next FITs. In Guam, there are a number of strategic initiatives to drive the short-term recovery. It's a tactical plan to save airline seats and clean up and improve the Guam experience.” He said Guam’s speaker [of the Guam Legislature] has organized the Guam Experience Commission to assist. “We're conducting research in our source markets to be able to determine what they're saying about our region, not just about Guam. But equally important, we've got to figure out what our local people want.”
Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association president and CEO Mufi Hannemann, suggested that MVA market the NMI as an ideal training or vacation spot for athletes competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Mariano R. Iglecias, senior civil engineer, and K-Andrea E.S. Limol, solid waste technical analyst, under the Office of Planning & Development talked about the Garapan Revitalization Project and Oleai Sports Complex and Cultural Events Center — two projects totaling more than $32 million — and other OPD initiatives in the infrastructure segment.
Tourism executive David Tydingco speaks to forum attendees. Photo by Mark Rabago
Glen Hunter, special assistant to the governor for the Broadband Policy & Development Program, said the agency was able to secure more than $200 million of investments that are critical to building the “robust foundation” that's needed for a digital economy, which the CNMI is aspiring to become. See Guam NMI press feds re-evaluate broadband deployment program
Commonwealth Utilities Corp. director Simon Sanchez, meanwhile, said the NMI could tap into one of the cheapest sources of electricity.
“The CNMI is perfectly poised for solar energy to come in and participate with conventional energy to bring you more reliable power at the lowest possible cost.“ Sanchez said CUC’s Integrated Resource Plan needs to figure out how CUC can bring in the energy resources necessary to provide reliable power at the lowest possible cost.
“How do we transmit that energy across the modern grid with smart grids, smart meters. And that's the direction we're taking and [CUC executive director Kevin Watson] is taking, and the team is taking at the CUC. And by 2030, we're going to be in a much better position,” he said.
Other speakers and panelists included Delegate to Congress Kimberly King-Hinds, who criticized the administration of Gov. Arnold I. Palacios for inaction in arresting the fall of the NMI economy.
She said in February arrivals were 31.9% lower than in February 2024; year-to-date, tourism arrivals are 21% below the last fiscal year; business gross revenues in the first quarter were14% lower than in first quarter 2024; and in 2024 excise taxes and other fees dropped by 44%.
Her office will work with the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority to raise awareness of the CNMI among U.S. investors; engage in trade discussions; and connect U.S. capital to local opportunity, she said. mbj
