Japan to develop plan

JAPANESE think tank, Japan Development Institute (JDI) will develop a new special economic zone master plan for the country, says Prime Minister James Marape.
Marape said the institute would work with partners such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the World Bank to develop zones around the country.
He met institute chief executive and chairman Dr Shoichi Kobayashi in Tokyo last week.
Marape was accompanied by International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird and PNG ambassador to Japan Samuel Abal.
Maru and Abal held talks with Dr Kobayashi to progress the concept in PNG as a matter of urgency, starting with the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone in Madang.
The institute specialises in international development.
It was established in 1982 as the World Consultant Service.
It later changed its name to the institute after merging with the think tank of the Institution of Engineering Consulting Firms Association, Japan, in 1997.
With its distinguished experts from numerous disciplines and the network with its associate institutions and experts in the world, the institute provides a broad range of consulting services in the field of development, carries out practical studies, and proposes concrete projects and strategies.
“I give JDI my full support to come to PNG,” Marape said.
“We have moved ahead with passage of the Special Economic Zones Authority Act in 2019, so the political will is there.
“It’s just a matter of getting the nuts and bolts in place.”