Grand Forks mayor "surprised" by timing of Fufeng project decision from Committee on Foreign Investment

(Fargo, ND) -- The mayor of Grand Forks is reacting to the announcement that the federal government is no longer reviewing plans by a Chinese company to build a corn processing plant in the city. 

"Well initially I was surprised because they had 45  more days. We expected they were going to take that full amount of time. So they had a 45 day extension they could have granted and ask for more information from the two parties that were involved," said Brandon Bochenski.  

Bochenski made the comment after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States announced Tuesday it was no longer reviewing the project by the Fufeng Group, saying land sold for the project was not a "covered transaction" under federal law. 

The mayor says there are still other hurdles to clear in order for the project to continue moving forward.

"Well on our side there is an environmental permit that still needs to be issued by the State of North Dakota. We are still looking at transportation issues, as we work through wastewater treatment, water supply, those types of issues are still needing to be finalized," said Bochenski.