Virgin pilot training school Tamworth: FIRB approval decision announced by the council

Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray will announce whether the $30-million deal was approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) at a highly-anticipated press conference.

The agreement has been under scrutiny after it was revealed Virgin's partner in the project, the Australian International Aviation College (AIAC), is owned by two Chinese companies with links to the Chinese Communist Party.

The HNA Group owns 80 per cent of the AIAC, and Winbright Overseas Investment Limited owns 10 per cent.

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman would not make comment on the status of the FIRB approval until after the official announcement at Tamworth Regional Airport.

The aviation giant refused to sign a lease agreement with the council until the FIRB application was approved.

There have been conflicting accounts from Tamworth's general manager Paul Bennett and Cr Murray about the disclosure of Chinese involvement in the pilot training school.

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Six months after the deal was announced in March Mr Bennett told the Leader he had no knowledge of Chinese involvement in the project.

By July Cr Murray conceded the Chinese links were clearly explained early in the discussion.

If approved, the project will see up to 500 students trained at one time in Tamworth at the former BAE Systems building.

The flight school was announced in October last year, when the council abandoned plans with Qantas and partnered with Virgin Australia instead.