Silimanai Ueta Jr. Solomona Re-Appointed as General Manager of Samoa Airport Authority

March 7, 2022

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Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Silimanai Ueta Banse Jr. Solomona as the General Manager of the Samoa Airport Authority, (SAA).

Prime Minister Hon Fiame Naomi Mataafa confirmed Silimanai will serve his second three-year term as GM of the Samoa Airport Authority after a recommendation by the SAA Board of Directors was approved by Cabinet.

Silimanai has been working in the aviation industry for close to 30 years including 12 years in management level posts with the SAA.

From 2012, Silimanai was SAA’s Assistant General Manager for Operations and Aerodromes where he was tasked, amongst other duties and responsibilities, as the Aerodromes Specialist to complete project funding papers for the:

terminal expansion with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This was later replaced with the Shanghai Construction Group terminal upgrade project.
preliminary scoping and conduct of initial studies (Environment & Social Management Plans) of the World Bank-funded Samoa Aviation Investment Project (SAIP) to project approval in August 2014.

Silimanai has driven Terminal Upgrade projects for SAA for the enhancement of airport operations.

His initial training was conducted at the Singapore Aviation Academy and the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji Air Traffic Training College.

He obtained his initial ratings as a Traffic Controller (Aerodrome and Approach Control) in July 1996 with the SAA through the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority testing regime. In March 2000, he moved to Fiji on contract with Strategic Air Services Limited at their Nausori Airport Facility before he was transferred in 2004 to Nadi where he obtained further training and qualified as an Area/Oceanic Controller.

Silimanai has been trained in several countries – New Zealand (Air Traffic Services Examiner and Risk Assessment and Mitigation), Korea (Air Navigation Policy), and Malaysia (Airport Economics).