The French Polynesian government has again extended a permit for the Chinese company Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods to build a large fuel tank for its planned fish farm on Hao atoll.
Hao atoll Photo: Google Maps
The permit was to expire this month but the Energy Minister Tea Frogier has now given the company another year to start work to build a tank capable of storing more than 1.2 million litres of fuel.
The project to build the South Pacific's largest fish farm has been dogged by repeated delays since its inception six years ago, and construction work is yet to begin.
Other new permits to build the fish farm were still pending because of alterations proposed to the number and size of the enclosures.
The Covid-19 outbreak added to the delays because work permits for Chinese workers were suspended.
The project is reportedly worth $US320 million after it was scaled back from the initial investment sum of $US1.5 billion.