Hawai'i County Mayor Billy Kenoi has decided against selling 737 acres of public land until market conditions improve, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

Kenoi's announcement came Monday, the day his administration canceled a scheduled bid opening.

Various attempts to sell the land this year ended with no bids above the appraised value, the minimum allowed by law.

Kenoi says the county isn't going to give the land away.

The Hawai'i County Council gave Kenoi the authority to sell the land as a way of balancing this year's budget. But the administration was able to balance the budget without selling the land.

The land was acquired by the county as part of a 1994 tax settlement with bankrupt Hāmākua Sugar Co.