Several construction and maintenance projects in Hawaii face delays because of President Trump’s diversion of government funding to build a wall at the southern border of the United States. More details have now emerged about other projects around the Asia Pacific that will also feel an impact.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has listed more than three and a half billion dollars in military construction projects that will be delayedwhile funds are diverted to building what the Pentagon calls “border barriers” along the southern border of the United States.
The list includes 43 projects in 23 states — including Hawaii.
21 more are in three U.S. territories and more than 60 are overseas – including in the Asia Pacific.
95-million dollars would come from a construction project at an elementary school slated for a Marine Corps base on Okinawa.
A total of more than 400 million dollars of projects will be affected at U.S. military bases in Japan. Most of them are air bases with work descriptions such as “maintenance hangars” and “warehouse facilities.”
Bases in Guam will see a reduction of more than 257-million dollars — big ticket items there include a “water well field” and a machine gun range.
More than 70-million dollars will come out of the budget of U.S. Forces Korea. Most of that will be taken from plans for a drone hangar on the west coast of South Korea.
South Korean media reports that hangar had been scheduled to go into operation this year — quoting the Defense Ministry saying it will “do its best to make sure that this will not affect its combat preparedness through close consultations with the U.S.”
