French Polynesia is lucky to have Māori investors for the Tahitian Village tourism complex, the territory's President Edouard Fritch says.
French Polynesian politician Teva Rohfritsch Photo: Supplied / Présidence de la Polynésie française
Mr Fritch made the comment on local television at a ceremony marking the signing of a $US700 million deal with the Kaitiaki Tagaloa consortium to build the South Pacific's biggest tourism project.
The consortium is led by former New Zealand politician Tukoroirangi Morgan, who laid a stone brought from New Zealand to mark the occasion of the signing.
The protocol signed by him allows for a 200-day period to finalise the contract to build part of the Tahitian Village resort complex.
The consortium includes Kaitiaki Property, Iwi International and Samoa's Grey Group, which already owns and runs five high-end hotels in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora.
The Tahitian Village project includes three-to five-star hotels and apartment complexes, totalling more than 1500 units.
About 2500 people are expected to be employed for the construction phase.
The Tahitian Village is a downscaled successor project to the $US3 billion Mahana Beach project which was abandoned after facing funding problems.