Duma: Disruptions part of cost blowout

By JEFFREY ELAPA
PART of the blame for the cost blowout of the PNG LNG project in the highlands was due to of more than 500 incidents, including roadblocks, forced stop work and harassment by landowners, Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma told parliament on Tuesday.
Duma said other causes for stoppages to the construction phase of the project that contributed to the cost blowout of about K3 billion were theft and threats.
“The behaviour and attitudes of the landowners have contributed to the massive blow out but the onus is on all leaders to work together to solve some of the issues such as land identification and social mapping.”
He said business development grants or the high impact project funds would not solve the problems.
It was up to the leaders of the community, landowners and those mandated to work together to achieve a common goal.
Koroba-Lake Kopiago MP Phillip Undialu had said during question time that there were so many landowner issues that were yet to be addressed by the state.
Undialu alleged that the project that begun in 2010 was rushed through by the government while not addressing and considering the effects.
He was referring to the cost blowout, loss of lives as a result of environmental pollution, standoffs at Hides 1 and 4, social mapping, land identification and the lack of government officers on the ground to monitor and solve outstanding issues.
He wanted to know what action the government was
taking.
Duma, in his reply, said landowners of the PNG LNG project had continuously threatened to assault government officers sent to conduct social mapping and landowner identification.
This had forced the officers to stop work and return to Port Moresby.
Duma said it was unsafe for the government officers to be based on the ground at the LNG project sites or the nearest government stations because of the attitude of the
landowners.
He said that the government had spent K10 million to engage a consultancy firm to carry out the landowner identification and social mapping programme.
But that move failed as well because landowners would not allow them into their areas and had threatened them.
Cooperation from political leaders of the respective project areas was also lacking, the minister added.