Work on LNG college halted

WORK on the proposed Yuni LNG College in Tari, Southern Highlands, was stopped this week by angry landowners.
Wita Arua clansmen and other traditional landowner groups of the existing Hides 1 wellhead gasfield (PDL1) stopped Dubai-based American contractor Red Sea Housing Services Ltd from continuing work on the college.
The landowners were frustrated that they had not been paid for supplying labour and equipment to Red Sea Housing in the last eight months.
Umbrella landowners company Hides Gas Development Corporation is responsible for these payments.
At the college site yesterday, landowner spokesmen Aluya Yakari (Mapua Investment Ltd), Hare Hengi (chairman Wita Arua Holdings Ltd) and Thomas Tandape (chairman Hides PDL1 Development Corporation) said the corporation owed them more than K200,000.
They said this delay was putting unnecessary constraints on their business activities.
The three leaders also demanded that the state and ExxonMobil (project developer) pay them their business development grants and seed capital of K20 million for them to participate in spin-off business activities in the LNG project.
They also wanted landowner participation in sub-contracts during the construction phase of the college.
They also accused the landowners’ corporation of poor management and representation, opting that the state and project developer deal directly with individual landowner companies.
The landowners also highlighted various other issues that were of concerned to them, including that of environmental damages and land compensation.
The Wita Arua landowners were also still waiting for a K6 million promised to them by Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma during the Umbrella Benefits Sharing Agreement signing in May last year in Kokopo.
Former treasurer Patrick Pruaitch had agreed to make payment but it is now 15 months overdue.
Yesterday, they requested new Treasurer Peter O’Neill to honour that commitment.
They warned that failure to do so would only mean more headaches for the LNG project.
They further warned that it might come to a stage where all works would stop and all parties return to the negotiating table.
Hides Gas Development Corporation, ExxonMobil and government representatives could not be reached for comments.
A Red Sea Housing Services official said while they had deadlines to meet, they just have to wait for the stakeholders to sort out the landowners’ grievances.