China is being blamed for the Ponphei governor's apparent change of heart over an American company's contractual plans to build an 80 million US dollar cannery.
The company Oceania first announced plans a year ago to construct a cannery in the Federated States of Micronesia to employ about 2,000 people.
It had the full backing of the state.
Now the company is caught up in legal action regarding a contract it signed with Ponphei's Economic Development Agency to manage the ports, which has delayed the cannery plans.
The company's FSM representative Dr James Yaingeluo says the move is political given the
governor's recent announcement that China had agreed to fund a fish processing facility on Pohnpei.
"Probably China has an interest in it and that's why. Because when the Governor came back from China, he told the community that you know there's a group from China willing to come in and do the cannery. But there was question raised among the people who said What about the Oceania?. And he said No we've put them on the backburner. We are not going to do that anymore."
Dr James Yaingeluo, Oceania's representative in the Federated States of Micronesia.
