Former Prime Minister Dr ʻAisake Eke has rejected as “not true” Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua’s claim that failures by Eke’s former government to complete necessary land and contractual preparations contributed to delays in the multi-million-dollar Fangaʻuta Lagoon Bridge project.
The construction contract for the US$97 million project was signed by Eke’s government and McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd in September 2025 at a ceremony presided over by the King. The project includes a 720-metre bridge across Fangaʻuta Lagoon and 2.1 kilometres of approach roads linking Nukuʻalofa with southern Tongatapu.
Eke told Kaniva News that all immediate requirements had been met and work continued until his government left office on 18 December.
“Fakafanua’s statement is not true,” Eke said.
Eke also rejected the suggestion that the delay began while he was still Prime Minister.
“The delay occurred after the new Prime Minister, Fakafanua, and his government took office,” Dr Eke alleged.
The former Prime Minister’s account directly challenges Lord Fakafanua’s recent public statements blaming the bridge construction delays, recently revealed by Kaniva News, on unresolved preparatory matters that he said were inherited from the previous administration.
Earlier this month, Lord Fakafanua also revealed that he had only recently learned of further land disputes affecting access to the bridge at Folaha and Longoteme. He said he had since resolved the issues through Zoom calls and social-media messaging with the affected landowners, most of whom lived overseas.
He said the necessary documents were now being sent to the affected landowners in Australia and New Zealand for their signatures.
Prime Minister Asked to Respond
Kaniva News has contacted Lord Fakafanua and put Dr Eke’s allegations directly to him, including Eke’s characterisation of the Prime Minister’s claim as not true, “’ikai ke mo’oni”. The Prime Minister has been asked to respond and provide evidence supporting his account of when the project entered delay and what caused it.
The conflicting accounts come after former Infrastructure Minister Sēmisi Sika told Kaniva News that the Government had incurred approximately TOP$7 million in what he described as penalties (tautea) during the six months from September 2025 to February 2026 because of the prolonged delay.
Sika said the TOP$7 million in delay-related costs incurred between September 2025 and February 2026 could continue to accumulate if construction of the bridge remained stalled, potentially adding another TOP$7 million by September 2026.
Lord Fakafanua later confirmed at a press conference that the Government had received McConnell Dowell’s claim for delay-related costs. However, he said the amount might be reduced through a value-engineering process aimed at lowering the cost of some construction materials.
It is now September 2026, but at his latest press conference this month, Lord Fakafanua did not clarify whether the construction had resumed or confirm whether any further delay-related costs had accrued.
The period Mr Sika identified began while Eke’s government was still in office. Eke’s government left office on 18 December 2025.
Eke Disputes Construction Halt
Eke, however, firmly disputes that construction had stopped during that period.
He claimed that, before Parliament approved the Government’s annual budget in June, Lord Fakafanua had already told the House that all land disputes affecting the project had been resolved.
Eke said that, during his tenure, the requirements that had to be met before the contract was signed were assessed by representatives of the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. He said they regularly visited Tonga to review the project’s progress and met with him and officials from the Ministries of Lands, Forestry and Agriculture, as well as the Attorney-General’s Office.
Eke said he chaired weekly meetings involving relevant government ministries, an ADB representative in Tonga, the contractor and the Project Management Unit to identify and resolve problems that could interfere with construction.
He said the project’s land requirements were divided into two categories: about nine properties needed for the immediate bridge works and others that could be addressed later. However, he did not clarify whether these arrangements, including the agreement to resolve some land matters later, covered the properties that Lord Fakafanua now says are subject to disputes that have stalled construction.
Accordingly, Eke said in Tongan: “ʻI heʻene pehē, ne ʻosi maau e ngāue ia ke fakahoko, ʻa ia ʻoku hala ʻa e tukuakiʻi” kuo fai ʻe Fakafanua.
This translates as: The work was ready to proceed; therefore, Fakafanua’s allegation was incorrect.
Preparations Unfinished After Election
He acknowledged there had been an unresolved compensation issue involving property at ʻUmusī, where approximately TOP$10 million to TOP$12 million was being sought.
Eke said he personally met the person holding the power of attorney for the affected landowners and discussed the compensation demand. He maintained that an understanding was reached that negotiations over compensation could continue without preventing work on the bridge.
He said an agreement had been signed allowing bridge construction to proceed while final compensation negotiations continued, although no compensation had actually been paid to affected landowners before his government left office.
Eke also rejected a suggestion put to him by Kaniva News that, given Lord Fakafanua and Sika had referred to penalty charges dating back to September 2025, he should have been aware of any construction stoppage while he was Prime Minister.
“That claim is false. The work did not stop while we were still in government,” he said, adding that he only became aware of the reported delay during parliamentary debate on the 2026/27 Budget in June.
McConnell Dowell Made No Claim
He also said McConnell Dowell had not submitted a financial claim to his government for delays caused by any failure by the Government to meet its contractual obligations.
“There was no delay-related financial claim from the bridge contractor against the Government while we were in office,” Eke claimed.
He said that had he remained in government, the bridge project would not have encountered the problems it is now facing.
Kaniva News has also contacted McConnell Dowell for comment. A response is expected and will be published once received.
