Global visitors to Hawaii, including those coming for next month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative summit, will be greeted by a Honolulu Airport refreshed by a $7 million spit shine.

At the international arrival area, tattered canopies have been repaired, floors are being buffed and a walkway famous for being flooded when it is raining will no longer have a river running through it.

Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, who has led the beautification efforts, said all of the projects under way will be completed before APEC in November.

"These improvements are going to be great for APEC, but more importantly, these are things that should’ve been done a long time ago," Schatz said during a media tour of the projects Wednesday.

The most expensive item is a $2.7 million project to repair and replace ceilings at the International Arrivals Building and at Gates 24 and 25, as well as repairs to the garden area and walkway.

The walkway would often be submerged if there was rain, so the gutters are being repaired. State Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl joked during a media event at the airport Wednesday that it was an "unintended water feature."

"There would literally be a river running through across the walkway," Meisenzahl said. "People would walk off the plane, they’d be trudging through the water, then go into the air conditioning of the International Arrivals Building."

Another project will replace worn floor tiles at the Ewa pedestrian breezeway and old drainage piping. Parts of the breezeway have already been adorned with new art. That project costs about $2.5 million.

A $1.5 million project will replace planters and curbs along the Ewa concourse roadway.

"It looked beat up," Meisenzahl said.

The canopies at the group tour bus and shuttle area have been replaced at a cost of about $400,000.

Much of the work focuses on the visitor experience in the first hour after arrival, from the minute they walk off the plane to the customs area (with new light fixtures) and to baggage claim, lined with high-definition TVs.

"After APEC’s done they’re still going to be here serving the people of Hawaii and everyone who travels to Hawaii," Meisenzahl said.

Out of 2 million international visitors to Hawaii in 2009, 88 percent came from APEC nations such as Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Australia. The event is expected to draw 17,000 attendees.

During the conference, the international gates will have greeters and APEC-specific signage, and customs will have APEC-only lines.