A delegation of the Chinese company Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods has arrived in French Polynesia as the territory is awaiting the launch of the Hao atoll fish farm.
Its head Wang Chen, who again met top leaders in Tahiti, had been expected to announce the date of when construction would start on the fish farm which was originally projected to have 3,000 fish cages.
The investors have secured the permits and are forecast to need two years to set up the facilities.
Two years ago, the company expected to be able to employ about 10,000 people, but the project had since been scaled back.
The company, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese Tian Rui group, chose Hao in part because its runway was long enough to accommodate planes which can freight the fish directly to China.
Hao was a major military base in the latter part of the last century when France carried out its nuclear weapons tests on nearby Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls
Chinese delegation to Hao atoll, June 2014 Photo: Photo courtesy of Govt of French Polynesia
