Delegation to meet landowners

By JAYNE SAFIHAO
Landowners of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang will meet with a ministerial delegation tomorrow to discuss outstanding socio-economic and land issues.
The attorney-general and the ministers for commerce, fisheries, environment and other guest speakers have already arrived in the province, with more arriving this morning.
The meeting at Alexishafen will discuss, among other things, seed funding for the two umbrella companies, Rehammb and Kananam Investment Ltd, outstanding payments of previous contracts, explain the environmental impact study approved in principle and signed in Port Moresby last month by Environment Minister Benny Allan, the contents of the memorandum of understanding and agreement signed, funding support of the provincial government to the three major projects, Vidar, Yandera and Ramu NiCo mine, equity participation under the benefits sharing agreement, the need for a monitoring committee for PMIZ to oversee the project and community service obligation funding.
Landowners with outstanding issues will have representatives at the meeting to question the ministers concerned.
The PMIZ project is located at Vidar, 30km north of town.
The 200ha of land, marked as portion 1350, were leased from the RD Group of companies so it could be turned into a special economic zone once the project goes ahead.
The project was initiated by the provincial government to take part in RD Tuna Fishing equity options with the intention of developing a “one-stop shop” for tuna catch and processing.
The project aims to maximise economic benefits for marine resour­ces, especially tuna, to the European Union and other­ interested countries, to create a good business environment for those locators to be internationally competitive and to serve as a major off loading centre for tuna caught by other Pacific Island countries within their respective fishing grounds.