National carrier Samoa Airways plane is undergoing technical checks in Brisbane, Australia.
At a press conference this week. Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa said, “We are not quite sure at this point how soon those tests and processes will take place, meanwhile, Cabinet is taking the opportunity to once again reach a clearer understanding of the progress of the Samoa Airways project from its inception to where it is now, and also what future implications there are for government, especially government liabilities or responsibilities in terms of the funding arrangements that have been made.”
“No firm decisions have been made.”
Fiame also said that the technical checks are a requirement for validation of registration and to ascertain the worthiness of the aircraft.
“Essentially, it’s a process that was started by the former government is in play, although there are still issues that have to be resolved and as those issues are resolved or other matters come to light then we will determine where we are exactly with Samoa Airways but the airplane is not here, it is in Brisbane Australia,” she said.
“We had a significant discussion on Samoa Airways. I think this is the second week that Cabinet has received information, not only from the Samoa Airways company, but also of course from the various government agencies who are active in this undertaking. “