Landowners want separate payment

By JEFFREY ELAPA
LANDOWNERS of the PNG liquefied natural gas project segments 1-5 in Southern Highlands want their share of the infrastructure development grants paid separately from the Gulf government.
The landowners claimed that they were owners of some oil and gas projects and the pipeline landowners in the Southern Highlands and not from Gulf.
Therefore, their funds could not be controlled and paid by the Gulf administration.
Irakorahi Landow­ners Association general secretary Noah Fuwai Beako said landowners funds appropriated for segments of the LNG pipeline between Beneria in the Hela province and Kantobo in Southern Highlands had been gi­ven to the Gulf provincial government to make the payments.
Beako said Southern Highlanders were entitled to 39.33% of the funds to be shared in proportion to the length of the pipeline running through each integrated land groups.
He said the Irakorahi association represented the people of Lower Foe in the Kutubu area of Southern Highlands.
They are owners of pipeline segment 5.
He attributed the confusion to the prime ministerial directive to have the IDG funds for petroleum projects in the Hela region administrated by the Hela Transitional Authority.
Consequently, they had anticipated that the HTA would pay them from the final list produced by the National Planning Office.
However, he said their share of the IDG funds totaling K16.128 million was paid to the Gulf provincial government.
“Kutubu PDL 2, South East Mananda, Gobe 3 and 4 and the pipeline licence 1 areas are in Southern Highlands,” Beako said.
He said the HTA and the Gulf provincial government did not have jurisdiction to make decisions for projects within Southern Highlands.
“We would like the Gulf provincial government to pay segment 5 IDG of 12.12% to Irakorahi Development Corporation Ltd and further establish a new subsidiary trust account for the Southern Highlands segments of the pipeline to be transferred into the new account.”