Landowner firms to seek legal options

GULF Governor Chris Haiveta says landowner companies that have invested K22 million in a casino hotel project in Port Moresby will pursue legal options to recoup their funds.
“The Boroko casino was a state sanctioned project,” he said.
“However, it was a bad investment decision by boards of Petroleum Resources Gobe (PRG) and Petroleum Resources Moran (PRM) in 2007.
He was reacting to National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) chairman Clemence Kanau who recently claimed the Boroko casino project was “not sanctioned by the Government and NGCB”.
Haiveta said Kanau’s statement was incorrect.
“This is a State-sanctioned project in which the Mineral Resources Development Company landowner trust companies were invited to invest.
“The facts are that the State and CMSS signed the project agreement on March 22, 2007 for the casino hotel.
“That agreement stems from a NEC decision by the State to fully back the CMSS Casino project and was executed by the Governor-General, the minister and the National Capital District Governor at that time.”
“PRG and PRM were invited to invest K11 million each in the project.”