CNMI lawmaker wants controlled development

2:21 pm on 9 March 2017

A lawmaker in the Northern Marianas House of Representatives wants the government to slow down and control development in the CNMI.

Saipan in the Northern Marianas.

Saipan Photo: Supplied

Edwin Propst said the CNMI should look at other island nations in the Pacific or within the Micronesian region.

He pinpointed Palau, which has seen a dramatic growth in tourist arrivals, most especially from China, which had doubled in the last two years.

Increased economic activity lately on Saipan, especially in the tourism field, has resulted in four- to five-hour waiting times for tourists at customs, traffic on the island's thoroughfares, and a dearth of workers because of increased demand.

According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, the CNMI had a total of 501,489 tourist arrivals in 2016,

It was a 4.55 percent increase compared to 2015's numbers of 479,679, an almost 10 percent jump compared to the numbers in 2014.

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