Vanuatu’s airport deal under scrutiny

A special parliamentary committee will be established shortly to conduct further due diligence on the Singapore-based company – Vanuatu Trade Development Ltd, which the government signed a concession agreement with last July to build and upgrade Vanuatu’s key airports at a cost of USD 350 million. Parliament created the ad-hoc committee this week, despite an opposition boycott. The committee will have until November to present its findings. Prime minister Moana Carcasses, whose governing coalition has come under strain over the deal, embraced the value of consulting widely. Both he and the task force assigned to oversee the project are intent on allaying lingering doubts and fears over the project.  Mr Carcasses also welcomed the opposition’s decision to seek the courts opinion through a judicial review on the deal.