Bird puts Sepik’s economy on top his list

National

ELECTION candidate Allan Bird says he wants to make East Sepik a model province by improving the economy and social development at a significant pace.
That way the province will achieve a much high level of prosperity in the coming five years, he said.
Bird said his success in agriculture and tourism has made him eager to help fellow Papua New Guineans increase their earning capacity from agriculture through improved productivity, marketing and opportunities.
“When elected, I will be heavily focused on improving the lot of subsistence farmers and industrial farming,” he said.
Bird said he would be focusing on agriculture and believed there was a need to address the complex issues of the Frieda River copper-gold project.
“PanAust, the Frieda mine developer, last year submitted an application to the Mineral Resources Authority for a special mining lease, one of the final steps for the multi-billion dollar project to begin development,” Bird said.
“Although the deposit is in Sandaun (West Sepik), this is a complex project since it is located at the headwaters of the Sepik River.