Papua New Guinea government hopes that a new joint venture cannery in Madang Province will be finalised next month. Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
The Papua New Guinea government hopes that a new joint venture cannery in Madang Province will be finalised next month.
The government has been negotiating with RD Group for a cannery at Vidar in Madang, which could process 330 metric tonnes of fish and create 10,000 jobs.
The Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru said he wants to see a draft agreement on the joint venture as soon as possible.
He said the cannery, to be called Kumul Fishing Ltd, will be half-owned by the state, the provincial government, and the Madang and Sumkar Development Authorities, with RD holding the other 50 percent.
Maru also announced that under a new policy to be announced next month every fishing company in PNG will be required to land between 25 percent and 40 percent of their catch in PNG.
He said this would up the fish to be processed with only 20 percent currently being landed locally.
The new joint venture is planned for the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone and Maru said the government wants ten canneries in Madang eventually.
"We want to have a fully-fledged economic zone as a one-stop-shop with everything to do with fishing including fuel depot, slipway, water, wholesale, retail, staff houses, etc.," he said.
