A bid by a New Zealand consortium to build French Polynesia's biggest tourism complex appears to have stalled.
French Polynesian politician Teva Rohfritsch Photo: Supplied / Présidence de la Polynésie française
A third deadline for Kaitiaki Tagaloa to submit the required documentation for the $US700 million Tahitian Village project lapsed two days ago.
However, neither the French Polynesian government nor the head of the consortium, Tukoroirangi Morgan, has been able to confirm that documentation has been finalised to start building.
The office of the vice-presidency, which is in charge of the project, said there will be no comment this week but it expects to release information next week.
The part of the Tahitian Village project to be completed by Kaitiaki Tagaloa includes several three-to five-star hotels and apartment complexes, totalling more than 1,500 units.
A month ago, the vice-president Teva Rohfritsch said the head of the consortium Tukoroirangi Morgan was given more time to try to get 17 more Māori tribes from the North Island to be included in the project.
He said others are standing by to take over the hotel construction project.
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.
In 2015, the French Polynesian government planned to build 5,000 units ion the same site in Tahiti according to its agreement with a Chinese consortium.
However, funding could not be finalised and what was then touted as a $US3 billion project fell over.