State cancels Evergreen’s licence to develop oil palm

 THE Agriculture and Livestock department has cancelled the Evergreen Limited licence to develop Matawat Moil Oil Palm project in West New Britain.

Department deputy secretary Francis Daink explained the cancellation of the licence in a letter dated January 27, 2016, to the general manager of Evergreen Limited Peter Ling.

Daink said following an assessment of the submission from land and resources owners of the Matawat Moil Oil Palm in Talasea, the approval for the licence issued in 2014 to Evergreen Limited had been cancelled.

Daink said the landowners were concerned about certain actions taken by the project developer (Evergreen Limited).

He said the decision was made for the benefit of rural development and the aspiration of the resource owners.

He said the department also took into account the long delay by Evergreen Limited to move the project forward.

Since the approval in 2014, the department has not received any update on the progress of the project. 

It is understood that the land and resource owners had entered into an agreement to work with Cakara Alam (PNG) Limited instead.

Daink said following the cancellation and revoking of the approval, the department on January 26 issued Fezen Sakoron Plantation Limited a certificate of compliance of large scale forest clearance for agriculture.