Samoa To Cancel $100 Million China-Backed Port Project Under New Leader

Fiame Naomi Mataafa, the opposition leader set to become Samoa's first female prime minister, said she had more pressing needs to address than the port project.

Samoa's expected new prime minister has pledged to cancel a $100 million Chinese-backed port development, calling it excessive for the small Pacific island that is already heavily indebted to China. Fiame Naomi Mataafa, the opposition leader set to become Samoa's first female prime minister after a weeks-long political impasse, said she intended to maintain good relations with China but she had more pressing needs to address than the port project. The proposed construction of the wharf in Vaiusu Bay has been a divisive issue in Samoa, playing a part in April elections where long-serving leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi lost his parliamentary majority. The project has also threatened to spark a waterfront contest in the Pacific as the United States and its allies respond to China's growing influence in the region.