Maru: ICDC will be streamlined

By GYNNIE KERO
THE Industrial Centres Development Corporation (ICDC) will be rehabilitated and reformed into a private sector organisation, according to Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry Richard Maru.
He announced this at a swearing-in ceremony of the new ICDC new board and chairman Chris Kopyoto at Moale Haus last Friday.
He said the new ICDC would be “performance-driven, financially independent and not continue to be a drain and liability to the state”.
Maru said he did not want ICDC to be government funded through annual recurrent budget appropriation.
He said it should be self- funding from its industrial centres at Malahang, Ulaveo and the future Madang industrial park (Pacific Marine Industrial Zone).
The new board was tasked to re-advertise and recruit a very competent chief executive officer from the private sector.
It will also proceed with an investigation into ICDC to find out how many millions of kina in public investment programme (PIP) funds were used on consultancies with no project to show for the vast amounts of funds expanded.
Maru said all industrial centtrrs should be developed on a commercial viable business model and not unviable “white elephants”.
“No centres will be developed unless it makes business sense to do so.”
He said China and Philippines had developed on the back of industrial zones.
Meanwhile, the government is considering legislation to supercede the current ICDC legislation.
The special industrial zone authority legislation will be the enabling legislation for current and new industrial zone developments.
Maru also transferred the functions of the PMIZ project in Madang from the department to ICDC.
He directed the new board to immediately find suitable land in NCD to develop a new industrial zone apart from the Konedobu Petroleum Park.
“It is common sense NCD should have been the first to have an industrial zone that would better serve the needs of the industry,” Maru said
“It begs the question of what the previous boards and managements have been doing in spending millions of public funds on ‘paper projects’ when NCD badly needs an industrial park.”