LNG

Asi said there is no approval given by authorities to stage the protest.

The PPC, who was at the site this morning told Loop PNG that he had warned landowners not to cause any damage to the plant site but to allow the operation to continue as normal.

He had advised them that the protest was illegal and while the landowners have been reluctant to back off, they promised to do it peacefully.

Asi said his men are on the ground to protect facilities and to ensure the protest does not turn rowdy.

He said various orders issued by Courts by various landowners have put a stop to the disbursement of the funds.

Until those cases are resolved, the Government will not be paying the landowners, explained the PM.

He said the Government has been in close discussion with all the landowners to resolve the issues amicably before the funds are disbursed.

“We are not in the business of withholding the benefits of the landowners that was signed in the UBS agreement by the previous government and landowners in Kokopo, but working to disburse the funds.”

He said the LNG project is the Hela people’s baby.

He said what other leaders of the country have alluded to about the project, especially given the current situation is not true.

In November 2015, the National Parliament passed the 2016 Budget with a planned total expenditure of K14.8 billion, which is 2.4 percent lower than the 2015 Budget estimate, and revenue of K12.7 billion.

The Budget deficit therefore is K2.1 billion or 3.3 percent of GDP.

Bakani, in his Quarterly Economic Bulletin said the K12.7 billion revenue is expected to be largely driven by the mineral and petroleum tax.

He said since the release of the 2016 Budget, international prices for mineral and petroleum has dropped further and are forecast to be even lower.

He believes that over the next five years this will see 10,000 Papua New Guineans employed in the construction phase, new education and training programs and downstream benefits for thousands of small businesses.

“The people of our nation need only look around their communities and towns to see the change that is happening in only a few short years as we have implemented the core policies we took to the 2012 election.

However, the report warns that growth in the Pacific is expected to fall to about 5% in 2016, as the one-off boost from the first full-year of PNG’s natural gas exports dissipates.

“Cyclone Pam and Typhoon Maysak again highlight the vulnerability of Pacific economies to disaster risks, which are the highest in the world,’ said Xianbin Yao, Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department.