After months of negotiations, the American Samoa Government has rejected a request from StarKist Samoa for space next to the government shipyard for a cold storgage facility for the cannery.
The Governor Lolo Moliga directed that the railway space at the shipyard be left alone and an alternative site found for StarKist.
Photo: RNZI / Monica Miller
He said it didn't make sense for the government to invest in the shipyard and then turn around and lease some of the space for non-shipyard related activity.
The Ronald Reagan Marine Railway is receiving $US1 million in bond money for construction of a new building that will house offices and workshops for the shipyard.
It comes after the slipway was recently upgraded.
The territory's capital improvement project plans are for the shipyard to get $US10 million in funding over the next few years.