Govt to fast-track entitlements: Kua

By SAMUEL BARIASI
THE Government will fast-track the outstanding entitlements of 4.27 per cent additional equity to the landowners of the liquefied natural gas project in Hela and other impacted provinces.
Petroleum and Energy Minister Kerenga Kua told landowners in Port Moresby yesterday that the National Executive Council had decided on Wednesday that the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd would manage the equity funds.
“This (additional equity) has been a long outstanding issue with no real action taken but we have agreed now that it will be quickly addressed,” he said.
Kua told the landowners that about K1 billion in benefits was available for them.
He assured the landowners that K368 million in royalties was in a trust account with the Bank of Papua New Guinea.
“Another K500 million in equity is under the control and management of Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC),” he said.
But he said most of these funds could not be released because of pending court cases and injunctions.
Kua urged the landowners with court cases to resolve their differences and withdraw their court cases so that more than 60,000 people in project impacted areas could benefit from the development projects on their land.
“The court cases are depriving you from benefiting.”