The Cook Islands Airport Authority is moving into the second phase of the multi-million dollar project to replace the old concrete slabs.

Airport Authority chief executive Nikau Tangaroa said the first phase has been completed, and now the Authority is looking at planning and asking for funding for phase two.

Tangaroa said there are not many slabs to replace compared to the first phase because they are only looking to replace 19 old slabs in this new phase.

For the first phase, it was earlier reported that 60 new concrete slabs were laid as part of the runway project.

Tangaroa said the project did not compromise safety and the runway was fully operational.

A figure reported earlier showed that $6.5 million was the cost of the project, which began in December 2020.

Last year, it was reported that the new slabs laid during the first phase of the project had some hairline cracks.

Tangaroa had then said that they would wait for the engineer’s report before proceeding with the second phase of the project.