Some people in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay province are questioning the National Lands Board's decision to sell waterfront land to a foreign businessman for 1.2 million US dollars.
Residents and the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry are crying foul over the decision by the Lands Board to award the prime land to the company Inpala Enterprises Limited, which is controlled by a Sri Lankan.
The newspaper, The National, says allowing the sale of the land, which is owned by the National Maritime Safety Authority, would leave villagers without a wharf.
The Lands board says it is giving the land to Inpala to build a service station despite it being zoned public institutional land.
The Chamber of Commerce says the Land board's decision violated section 67 of the Lands Act.
