Special terms eyed for marine park investors

*Talks in progress on conditions of joining in US$300m Madang facility
By SHEILA LASIBORI

PAPUA New Guinea will have to look at special conditions before it could allow its Pacific Island Countries (PICs) neighbours to bring their labour and capital to the proposed US$300 million (K803 million Pacific marine industrial zone (PMIZ) in Madang province.
This is to avoid possible hitches and to make it easier for marine park participants to remit profits back home, Minister for Commerce and Industry Gabriel Kapris said.
While Mr Kapris was not yet in a position to explain what these “special conditions” were, he told The National yesterday discussions were still continuing on the “specific arrangements” on PMIZ.
He said the special conditions being referred to would be discussed further with fellow Pacific Island leaders during the next Pacific Islands forum fisheries agency (FFA) meeting.
But what formed the basis of arrangements between PNG as host for the PMIZ and those who would be transporting their tuna catch was the Pacific Nauru agreement (PNA).
The Nauru agreement is a sub-regional accord on terms and conditions for tuna purse seine fishing licence in the region.
The parties to the Nauru agreement are Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, PNG, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
During the groundbreaking ceremony of PMIZ two weeks ago, Mr Kapris said the project would cost over US$300 million (K803 million) to complete.
Once completed the facility would include building a wharf and jetty, a fish market, cold storage, ship repair and dry-dock facilities, public utilities, civil works, standard factory buildings and wharf houses, service areas, container depot, residential facilities, schools, supermarkets, government agencies and many other support and ancillary facilities.
He reaffirmed the support of development partners such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union, the Chinese and Japanese governments and the National Government which allocated K29 million in the budget and a further K210 million, from the Export Import Bank of China.
“I will soon be proceeding to China to finalise the drawdown of that loan so that works could start on the civil works component of the project,” he had said.