A security fence was constructed around a building site in Neiafu this week after a complaint was lodged with the Ministry of Infrastructure.
There were concerns last month for public safety after construction works began to build a two-storey hotel without having the boundary of the construction site secured to prevent public access.
The hotel is owned by a man only known to us as Luke, a Chinese businessman.
Photos from the site seen by Kaniva News in August showed structural steel beams installed by the roadsides and at a corner of a road intersection.
Some steel beams had been laid by a roadside.
Neiafu town officer Vava Lapota claimed he warned the Ministry that he was going to stop the construction because it was dangerous for the public.
The Ministry then cordoned off the border of the site and put traffic cones around it, Lapota said.
He said the construction came to a hold before the fence was put up this week.
The lack of public protection sparked debates on Facebook with some asking about Tonga’s building code and whether it had been applied.
Richard Bloomfield questioned whether the building code had been ignored and asked whether the site had been managed properly.
He asked where the construction site safety boundary was.
He also asked whether the building inspector had checked the occupational health and safety process.
