Yangoru-Saussia MP and Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru gave the Japan Development Institute (JDI) team of experts and local consultants a tour of East Sepik Province.
They visited several sites including the Sepik Plains Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Maru said East Sepik is one of the 18 potential SEZ locations identified by the government. It holds one of the largest records in producing leading cash crops in the country with Yangoru-Saussia District being the leading cocoa producing district presently.
Maru added that the team of experts were given a helicopter tour of the province starting at Wewak, over Turubu oil palm project, all the way to the Sepik River and across the Sepik Plains. The team also did a visit to the Yangoru Mobile Barracks which will be completed next year.
“By early next year when the road to the Sepik Fresh Farm site at Huaripmo is completed and a mini police station is build the Prime Minister will be invited to officially open those projects. We will at the same time launch the project to build the biggest dairy farm in the country at Huaripmo,” Maru said.
He added that they are also looking at establishing a chocolate factory at a site that they had identified along the highway at Baimuru in East Yangoru LLG. He said they will talk to the landowners at Baimuru and hopefully they would agree to give the land to have the factory established.
“We want the factory to be located on the highway so we can buy cocoa from the neighboring districts for processing,” he said.
Maru also took the expert team to Sepik Fresh Farm at Huaripmo where they were given a tour of the farm by the staff before returning to Wewak and ending the tour of the province at Mengar where a proposed international wharf is to be built.