A former MP on Santo in Vanuatu says a proposed nickel smelter will harm a pristine area, and that locals have not been consulted on the project.
A joint venture was signed recently between a New Caledonian company, MKM, and China's Jin Pei, with plans to build a one-billion US dollar nickel plant to process low quality ore from New Caledonia.
But a custom landowner from the famous tourist site of Champagne Beach, Philip Pasvu, says the lives of thousands of people in the area is dependent on the area's resources and tourist attractions.
Mr Pasvu says if the plant were to be constructed, it would severely affect residents.
"The environment, especially, will be damaged because the distance between the site and my place, Hog Harbour - especially Champagne beach, where the tourism is in place, that's their main source of income."
Philip Pasvu says the plant would only employ two thousand people, a fraction of the local population.
Santo, Vanuatu Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
