Firm starts community talks

THE Sepik Development Project Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (Cepa) statutory engagement campaign started in Vanimo, West Sepik, yesterday, according to PanAust Ltd subsidiary Frieda River Ltd (FRL).
According to a statement from PanAust, over the course of the 10-week campaign, the FRL Community Affairs team will join Cepa and Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) representatives to consult with communities along the project’s proposed Vanimo to Frieda River proposed road corridor and the Sepik River.
The campaign will be split between the road corridor (Oct to Nov, 2019) and the Sepik River (Feb to March 2020).
There will also be consultations conducted next month in the main regional centres.
The campaign follows the commencement of Cepa’s independent peer review of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and dam integrity assessment done last month.
Independent consultants, Hydrobiology and Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) have been commissioned by Cepa to complete the reviews.
Also last month, the company published the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS) on the Frieda River website – www.friedariver.com to coincide with the campaign. The website also hosts fly through videos, factsheets and other project-specific information.
The Sepik Development Project director Scott Cowie spoke about the importance of the campaign and the company’s history of engagement with communities in PNG.
“Cepa’s engagement forums will promote open and inclusive discussions between Cepa, MRA and company representatives and facilitate honest, two-way conversations with communities along the project’s logistics corridor and the Sepik River,” he said.
“We encourage communities and stakeholders of the project to participate in an open and respectful way in the forums to ensure open dialogue without any threat to safety and security.”
Cowie said this was the third campaign the company had been involved in since 2015.
“In 2018, the engagement included more than 7,000 people from approximately 97 villages along the Sepik River and the infrastructure corridor.
The campaign was conducted in conjunction with environmental consultants Coffey, Cepa, MRA and the West and East Sepik provincial governments and district and local level government authorities.
“Feedback and community input from these engagement activities has informed project designs and decision-making processes,” Cowie said.
“PanAust’s engagement processes enable community participation and respect for traditional methods of decision-making.
PanAust’s engagement processes provide a template for how FRL will operate in PNG,” Cowie said.
“The company is committed to working with the Government to deliver the Sepik development project’s world-class hydroelectric operation, copper-gold mine and supporting infrastructure that will make a significant contribution to PNG’s long-term growth and prosperity,”