Pacific / French Polynesia

Hopes for Tahitian Village project alive

13:03 pm on 20 December 2019

French Polynesia's vice-president Teva Rohfritsch is in Paris to meet the four short-listed bidders to build a congress centre as part of the downscaled Tahitian Village project.

French Polynesia's vice-president Teva Rohfritsch. Photo: supplied

The congress centre is what is left of the government's $US3 billion Mahana Beach project, which has been downsized after a series of setbacks.

The planned congress centre west of Papeete is expected to have theatres and parking spaces for 1500 cars.

A jury is expected to decide by June which project will win the contract worth about $US70 million.

In July, a New Zealand consortium Kaitiaki Tagaloa missed three deadlines to finalise contracts worth $US700m to construct accommodation at the Tahitian Village site.

Originally launched in 2014, the Mahana Beach project was meant to double Tahiti's tourist numbers.

Teva Rohfritsch, centre, in Paris. Photo: Présidence de la Polynésie française