The remaining issue to be resolved in lease negotiations between ASG and StarKist Samoa for space to build a new cold storage facility for the cannery, is the least rate.
StarKist has been seeking government land to build additional cold storage to supports its local cannery for about ten years now.
ASG has agreed to lease it space in the government shipyard at Satala which is adjacent to the StarKist Samoa plant and lease negotiations have been going on between e two parties for the last few months.
Officials involved in the negotiations tell KHJ News that ASG has come up with a lease rate and Starksit is now waiting on the cannery to accept it before a lease is signed.
The cannery has said that with access to nearby fishing grounds still subject to fishing day quotas and other restrictions, the need for adequate cold storage is more important than ever before.
StarKist said that the additional freezer capacity would enable it to store fish in large quantities and avoid a disruption in supplies as has happened frequently in the past year.
The lack of adequate cold storage was cited by the cannery as the reason why they had to close for the holidays for three weeks instead of two.
