Chinese Government provides $830,000 grant — via ETCA — for Tuna Commission Headquarters Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#61331)

In November 2002, Micronesia won the bid to house the new headquarters of the Central and Western Pacific Highly Migratory Fish Management and Protection Committee (also known as the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, the Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission, or the Tuna Commission). Then, on March 23, 2004, the Chinese Government and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which committed RMB 40 million of grant funding for multiple projects (captured via Project ID#61331). An official from Micronesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently proposed to allocate approximately $830,000 of the grant proceeds for the Tuna Commission Headquarters Construction Project. The purpose of the project was to construct an 1884 square meter office building for the secretariat of Tuna Commission in the city of Kolonia (next to the old national capital complex). Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co., Ltd. (also known as Jiangsu Provincial Construction Engineering Corporation) was the contractor responsible for implementation. On August 4, 2004, the Chinese Government and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia signed a project design contract and an exchange of letters. Then, on March 30, 2005 a 4-person team from Jiangsu Provincial Construction Engineering Corporation arrived in Micronesia. On April 5, 2005, Ambassador Yang Qiang hosted a working lunch and with the expert group to host the acting FSM Minister of Infrastructure, Inspector General, and manager of Pohnpei Hydropower Company to discuss the construction contract. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 22, 2005 and the project was expected to reach completion within 7 months. The project commencement date was apparently delayed by one and a half months due to some construction issues, but works officially ended on September 12, 2005. Then, on January 26, 2006, the headquarters were officially transferred to the Convention Committee for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish in the Midwestern Pacific of the Federated States of Micronesia. A grand opening ceremony was held on September 30, 2007 and the building was officially put into use. Attendees included FSM Vice President Alec, Ambassador Liu Fei, Chairman of the Committee, Ambassadors of the United States and Australia, as well as representatives from various countries who are participating in the Committee's third technical and law enforcement conference in 2007 in Pohnpei.m various countries who are participating in the Committee's third technical and law enforcement conference in 2007 in Pohnpei.

Additional details

This project is also known as the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Management Committee Office Building Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 中西部太平洋高度洄游鱼类管委会 or 简称金枪鱼委员会 or 金枪鱼管理委员会办公楼项目. The main responsibility of the Tuna Management Committee, established in December 2004 with the authority to manage fish in exclusive economic zones (EEZ) 200 miles from member states, is to conserve and manage the most abundant natural resources in the Pacific region, namely fish and especially tuna resources (see 金枪鱼管委会将大展宏图).

Number of official sources

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Number of total sources

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