Tkatchenko, Mori to meet for talks on industrial park

By PETER ESILA
MINISTER for Commerce and Industry Wera Mori will meet Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko today for talks on the acquisition of 500ha of land at Nadzab, outside Lae, for an industrial park.
Mori said the meeting was directed by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
“Any other interests are sub-servient,” he said.
“This is the way to go.
“We need to create an industrial park in the area so that it will make it easy for potential investors who want to come and manufacture here in PNG.
“We have a weak kina.
“We are a source of cheap labour.
“Currently our kina stands at US 30 cents.
“If you put other enablers like water, electricity to produce energy, and transport infrastructure, that will make it favorable.
“For those who want to go into manufacturing, we will provide government incentives.
“We want to increase the economic base more into manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.”
Mori said import replacement, job creation and revenue for the country were some of the multiple benefits derived from such industrial parks.
“I am appealing to parties, whether they are individuals or companies, not to acquire land in the Nadzab area until this programme takes shape,” he said.
“This is simply because the State must have preference to all other programmes.
“Their collective interests are sub-servient to the interest of the State.
“That land must be acquired by the State for industrial development.”
Mori said it was customary land under integrated land groups.
“We are initiating discussions that will not only benefit the landowners, but the entire country,” he said.
Mori said his department’s commercial statutory authority, Industrial Centres Development Corporation, had started negotiations with landowners and would revisit them after National Executive Council approval.
Work will start as soon at the land is acquired by the State, which could take a couple of months.