The Federal Aviation Administration has said no to an American Samoan request to waive a performance bond for the rehabilitation of the runway at Pago Pago airport.
The governor, Lolo Maliga, requested the waiver to allow local construction companies to bid on the job.
In a letter to the FAA the governor says two off island companies, are the only ones able to meet the performance bond and they are knowingly inflating the engineer's estimates for local construction jobs.
While he didn't name the companies, but two New Zealand linked companies, Fletcher Construction and McConnell Dowell, have been able to post the bond.
American Samoa Governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga Photo: RNZI / Monica Miller
The bond protects the project owner if a contractor was unable to complete a job.
Lolo was told federal regulations could require the government to pay back funds for a project that was incomplete or one that did not meet the scope of work defined in the original agreement.
In addition, quality rehabilitation of the runway was critical to the operations and safety of the airport.