The Marshall Islands is trying to salvage its biggest planned foreign investment after environmental authorities rejected a Taiwanese company's proposal for a floating dry dock worth nearly US$20 million.
The Ching Fu (Marshall Islands) Shipbuilding Co has given authorities four weeks to find a new location for the dry dock in the capital Majuro after it was rejected because it was too close to hotels, homes and dive sites.
"The government is hopeful that within the next couple of weeks it can assist Ching Fu to find a suitable location," Resources and Development Minister John Silk said yesterday.
Ching Fu head Steve Chen told the Marshall Islands government on Monday that it had four weeks to resolve the impasse or the company would place the facility in another country.
"There's now a limited window of opportunity for the Marshall Islands government to secure this project," Chen said. "Within a matter of about four weeks, we will have no option but to shift our main focus to other locations where governments have expressed an enthusiastic interest in hosting the floating dry-dock project."
Other Pacific island countries have shown an interest in the project, including Fiji, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia, he said.
But Silk said the Marshall Islands was keen to bring the dry dock to Majuro because the economic benefits would be huge for the country of 55,000 people.
"The economic benefits are enormous, not just in direct jobs, but in use of hotels, car rentals and other spin-off jobs," he said.
Chen said the project would expand the local economy by 11 percent and provide 80 jobs in Majuro.
The dry dock has been planned for Majuro since the middle of last year and aims to take advantage of its proximity to tuna fishing grounds.
Observers estimate that by using a Majuro-based dry dock instead of ones in Asia, fishing vessels will cut weeks of travel time.
The Marshall Islands Environmental Protection Authority said it would consider another site in Majuro based on an environmental impact assessment already provided by Ching Fu.
Chen estimated the company's investment in the dry dock at more than US$18 million and said it would inject about US$11 million annually into the Marshall Islands economy through direct and indirect business activity.
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