There will be huge bureaucratic and logistical obstacles to overcome, but as long as the Kiribati Government keep signing the cheques, with the right management anything is possible. Fortunately that government has plenty of cash squirelled away from fishing royalties. Unlke the Nauruans they have not pissed it away on breweries, pubs, casinos, ships and (so far) airlines.
There was a time about 50 years ago when Tarawa was one of the best crew layovers in the Pacific. But much has changed, with Tarawa now one great rubbish dump. Overcrowded, dirty, stinks of sewage. The lagoon which we once skinny dipped in is now so polluted you would be unwise to even put your big toe in the water - don’t eat the fish unless it comes out of a tin.
Some of the more remote islands are still relatively unspoiled, so chuck enough billions at it, build some resorts and who knows? Could be the next go to place?
One thing is for sure, the only profits in this exercise will go to Embraer and Pionair, not the Kiribati government.