Reports from French Polynesia say work to build a huge Chinese-owned fish farm on Hao atoll will begin on 9 December.
Chinese delegation visiting Hao atoll, June 2014 Photo: Photo courtesy of Govt of French Polynesia
The public broadcaster reported the announcement just days after a delegation of the Chinese company Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods arrived in Tahiti for further talks with French Polynesian leaders.
According to the report, 40 hectares will be initially developed which will create 250 jobs, with 95 percent of them going to locals.
It says the project is worth about $US380 million.
Two years ago, the company expected to be able to employ about 10,000 people, but the project had since been scaled back.
The company, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese Tian Rui group, chose Hao in part because its runway was long enough to accommodate planes which can freight the fish directly to China.
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.
