StarKist Samoa will not be using government land to build housing for guest worker employees from Samoa.
The cannery plans to utilize land its now leasing from the Catholic Church for the housing project.
The land is at the site of the old Marist Brothers High School in Atuu across from the Samoa Tuna Processors plant.
Tufuga Faafoi Palepua, a senior cannery official said they are still in negotiation with the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago for use of the site for his particular purpose.
He told KHJ News that StarKist remains hopeful to start construction before the end of the year.
The housing was first requested by the Samoa Government during the Atoa o Samoa talks in 2022 for guest workers.
Samoa is the only country from which American Samoa hires guest workers who are not subject to the usual immigration clearance process.
They can only work for the cannery and the period for which they are under, the guest worker program does not count towards residency.
Samoa has advocated for the guest worker program to be similar to the seasonal work scheme where employers in New Zealand and Australia provide housing where workers can live together and the living conditions are similar to that of a village setting.
