The Minister of Public Enterprises, Piveni Piukala, has denied allegations that the New Zealand company, previously contracted to upgrade and manage Vava’u International Airport, has already spent and deposited millions of dollars as an investment in the project.
The revelation comes after the contract between the former interim government and the New Zealand company Green Light Energy (GLE) for upgrading Lupepau’u airport was terminated.
The Eke government revoked the contract with Piukala, stating in Tongan “that signing over the airport, worth $22 million, to a company with questionable status was not a prudent decision.”
TAL Declines to Sign
He said that one reason for revoking the contract was that Tonga Airport Ltd (TAL) had refused to sign it.
During a press conference last week, he said that TAL disagreed with GLE’s business model.
Piukala stated that, in that case, he believed it would be challenging for TAL to collaborate with a company if they disagreed on the business model.
He said it was important for Tonga to “take ownership of its destination”, have a good business plan before “aligning donors and investors” with it.
Airport Money Mystery
The Minister was then pressed during the press conference about GLE’s alleged $2 million deposit and the allegation that it was lost.
Piukala stated that the claim GLE spent $2 million on the airport was untrue.
“There is no record that they had spent two million dollars on anything regarding the airport,” Piukala said in Tongan.
Piukala, who mentioned meeting with GLE, stated that he was informed the company had been instructed to pay for a survey; there were allegations about money being paid for it. However, he had no record of that payment.
Vaipulu’s US$5m Deposit Claims
The recent developments follow claims made by former Interim Prime Minister Sāmiu Vaipulu at a previous press conference, where he alleged that GLE had deposited US$5 million as operational funds.
Vaipulu said that he was unsure whether the money remained with the government or if it had been returned.
In Tongan, he said: “Pea kou manatu‘i ‘e au ki mui na‘e ‘osi transfer mai $5 miliona ‘Amelika ko e pa‘anga ngāue ki he operation ka kuo osi ta‘ofi kātoa pea ‘oku ‘ikai ke u ‘ilo oku kei ‘i heni pe kuo toe fakafoki.”
