Vanuatu and China have agreed on a new tuna cannery outside Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila that will process mostly big eye tuna and yellowfin tuna for exporting to foreign markets.

The new cannery is expected to take two years to build, and consultations with landowners and environmental groups will take place soon.

Our correspondent in Vanuatu Len Garae says the government has welcomed the new million US dollar venture.

”They are looking at providing jobs for close to a hundred local people and that is going to be good for this country, and also the fishing boats that will bring in the tuna, the catches, they will also get local people onboard to fish when the cannery is up and running.”