TOKYO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Plans to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa have hit a snag over the financing of new infrastructure on the island of Guam, sources told a Japanese newspaper.
Yomiuri Shimbun said Sunday the Japanese government will likely decline to provide 63.2 billion yen ($740 million) in loans to the Guam utility company for upgrades to the sewage-treatment facilities because of a high probability of default.
Sources said revenue projections for the project indicate it will lose money, leaving the company, Guam Waterworks Authority, unable to pay back the loans.
The project is considered a necessary step if the Marines are to ever move out of their longtime Okinawa home under a U.S.-Japanese accord signed in 2006. The plan would have the relocation take place in 2014; however, the new obstacle could delay the move until 2020, the newspaper said. UPI
