A report that a Japanese company had planned to spend more than a billion dollars on a project in Binghamton surprised local officials.

A New York Post column on Tuesday asserted a "major" clean-energy business was prepared to "invest $1.5 billion" in Binghamton.

But, according to the story, the unnamed company "recently decided to pull out" because of scrutiny by United States Attorney Preet Bharara and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Binghamton Mayor Richard David seemed mystified by the report. He said he had never heard of such a project. If something like that was going to happen in the city, he said "it would be a game-changer."

Other state and local officials who had heard of the newspaper report also expressed skepticism that a foreign firm had been ready to spend such a large amount on a Southern Tier project.

For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

More From WNBF News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM