Three divisions under the United Church (UC) congregation in the Gazelle districts held a combine fellowship on Sunday at the Navunaram UC to meet with the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) consultant Tony Restall.
Mr. Restall who is also known as Mr. Free World was accompanied by the FTZ chairman Smael Sam Manikot and the technical working team.
According to Mr. Manikot this is part of the consultant visit plan visiting the people, churches and doing awareness and observing doing research as part of the projects initial planning stage.
He said following the decision for the Rabaul tuna exporting processing project one of the pilot project under the national government apart from the Gazelle Agro-Industrial Special Economic Zone (GAISEZ) tuna project will be house under the UC land.
Mr. Manikot said the technical team already had a special meeting with the New Britain clergies at Kabakada early this year purposely to resolved the principal for the church land at Unairima in the Rabaul district to anchor the Tuna Processing Project.
The GAISEZ team presented the overview of the study report to the United Church’s council. The study report pointed two geographical scenarios, that Unairima land parcel is outside the Volcano risk area and secondly Atalilikun Bay can cater for maximum shipping traffic at any one time.
Chairman Mr. Manikot said these two FTZ projects will be a result of the Public Private Partnership and church partnership is one of them.
The chairman said that the church’s decisions to anchor the Tuna processing facilities development under the Free Trade Zone concept, will give confidence to boost the level of socio-Economics connecting SMES, Livestock and poultry farmers, cooperatives in various farming activities.
Mr. Restall told the congregation that he is in the province to create and build something that can provide wealth and development to the lives of the people in the wards.
He said people in the province need to stop inviting foreigners to your province or country for them to take your land and resources.
He thanked the PNG government and the prime minister for their invitation stating that the Prime Minister is in support of the projects through the political will of Fisheries minister and Gazelle MP Jelta Wong.
Mr. Restall further stated that East New Britain is way ahead of the other 13 Special Economic Zones announced in the country because it already has legislation in place and locations confirm for both projects.