Pacific

Hao atoll fish farm project takes shape

12:06 pm on 11 November 2015

A Chinese company, Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods, has given further details of its fish farm project on French Polynesia's Hao atoll.

Its head, Wang Chen, says 800 workers will be sent to the atoll in the Tuamotus next year to build almost 3,000 fish cages.

Almost 600,000 tonnes of material will have to be shipped to Hao for what will be the territory's biggest project.

Once completed, Mr Wang says the facilities should be able to employ about 10,000 people.

The company, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese Tian Rui group, has in part chosen Hao because its runway is long enough to accommodate planes which can freight the fish directly to China.

The project is hoped to create jobs for local people as unemployment in the territory is running at an estimated 25 percent.

Hao was a major military base in the latter part of the last century when France carried out its nuclear weapons tests on nearby Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls

Official launch of project in May Photo: supplied