VT15M paid to make Santo’s American Road public
December 18, 2025 11:48 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Hilaire Bule.
The Minister of Lands, Rick Tchamako Mahe, has compensated VT15 million to Mr. Peter Colmar to make the American Road from Chapuis to the gate of Pekoa International Airport—commonly known as the “short cut road”—a public road.
Minister Mahe said the compensation aims to open the road for public use and to ease traffic from Chapuis to the town centre and the airport.
He added that the new public road will serve over 3,000 people, including those who bought land in the Showground subdivision, residents of Banban, and users of the evacuation centre at Tiroas Barracks near Showground.
The minister said it was also important to acquire the American Road, which covers about 2.8 hectares, to facilitate water supply access for Showground and Banban residents.
The new water supply system will connect to the upgraded water pump station in the Solway area, financed by the Asian Development Bank.
Minister Mahe said the public road will also support future development in Showground and Banban.
He added that it forms part of the current infrastructure development in the northern town of Vanuatu, Luganville.
The short cut road was originally built by the American army during World War II, linking Chapuis to Million Dollar Point and Palekula.
Former Luganville Mayor Toares Hilton Joshua said the development of roads in Luganville aligns with the government’s plan to make the town an economic hub of Vanuatu.
Luganville is currently seeing improvements to its roads, the upgrade of Pekoa International Airport, and expansion of the water supply system.
This is not the first agreement between Minister Mahe and Mr. Colmar. In October 2024, they signed a deed of release for a total of VT59,412,000 to enable the upgrade of Pekoa International Airport.
