Marine zone abuse revealed

Business

HE Government says K30 million had been mismanaged in the initial construction phase of the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang.
Commerce and Industry Minister Wera Mori said last Friday that according to the evaluation on site by officers from the ministry, initial work was not done properly.
Wera presented the findings to Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari including:

  • Perimeter fencing – K17 million spent on 9.27 kilometres of fencing at K1833 per metre. About four kilometres yet to be fenced;
  • The PMIZ main gate – K4 million;
  • Access road to the gate – K5.75 million. 2.47 kilometres of access road and only 400 metres cemented;
    Surveying – K2.25 million. Survey incomplete after eight years.
  • Affected communities – K1 million.

Mori said his officers would do an audit for all those projects.
The mismanagement of the K30 million was attributed to the lack of management structure and a business plan for the project.
According to an economic adviser to the minister, David Kumis, the new approach for the PMIZ project will follow the Taiwanese business model.
Kumis said with the Taiwanese model, the PMIZ returns look promising.
The Madang Marine Park Holdings Limited will own the fish and sell to the processing facilities on site. He said the business plan would focus on quality control. Fish will enter the quality control facility and then to a storage facility. Storage will hold 4000 tonnes of fish every day. Fish is then processed in the processing facilities.
Kumis said the fish storage facility would cost US$18 million (K56.62million) with a return net cash flow of 24 per cent.
This translates to K317 million in five years with only three processing facilities in full operation. This means the new loan of US$152 million (K350 million) can be repaid.