Gulf Governor, Chris Haiveta, has called for the proper identification of landowners who will be impacted by the Papua LNG Project before construction begin.
Governor Haiveta said this when urging Prime Minister, James Marape, to protect the interest of Papua New Guinea.
He made this call following the signing of the Fiscal Stability Agreement (FSA) between the National Government and project co-venturers of the Papua LNG Project.
Gulf Governor, Chris Haiveta, said urged the Government to follow all processes, especially in identifying all landowners, before the Papua LNG construction begins.
Governor Haiveta said he does not want to see a repetition of past experiences where landowners were delayed project benefits due to landowner identification issues.
“Noken harim divelopa, yu wok na lukautim interest bilong Papua New Guinea, bilong Gulf Provins, bilong papa graun, wantaim State. Noken larim ol confusim yu, we proses I stap, said Haiveta”
(Do not listen to the developer. You must look after the interest of Papua New Guina, The Gulf Province, the landonwers, and the State. Do not let them confuse you, as there is a process in place.)
Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua said the social mapping and landowner identification (SMLI) report has not been presented to them due to a national court injunction.
“Now that we have achieved this we will put our focus back to the National Court proceeding, hopefully, we can work towards having the injunction removed so that we can invite the landowners to work with us so that we settle our issues in an amicable away without going to the courts and delaying everybody and frustrating them,” said Minister Kua.
Prime Minister, James Marape, says they will follow all processes to ensure the project runs smoothly.
“For Papua LNG we will take every step of the way necessary to support the project so when we reach production, the landowners are getting paid from day one as far as their entitlements are concerned and everyone is happy, as the project fully matures to that stage,” said Marape.
Governor Haiveta thanked all parties involved in the signing of the FSA to move the Papua LNG Project to the next stage of development.
He said the Gulf Provincial Government will support every effort to progress the project.