Central Rice Project still in discussions

 

The proposed major Rice Project in the Central Province is still in discussions.
This is from the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neil
O’Neil told Parliament Friday , although the project was rejected three times in Parliament for not meeting requirements, it is still a project worth taking on board.

He made the statements in response to Member for Gazelle, Malakai Tabur’s suggestion for the project to be approved as a monopoly.
While the government disagrees with idea of monopoly, it wants landowners to actively participate on their land.

“We don’t want to encourage monopoly in the country, but what we want to encourage is production of locally grown rice,” said Prime Minister O’Neill.

He said if the investor comes in with the conditions that we already offered to the Agricultural Industry and with the initiative of the Green Revolution that quite easily meets many of the incentives that we want to give to the Agricultural sector.

“That is out there publicly for any investor to try and get advantage of including certain level of tax incentives and other incentives that the Government has already stated in the Green Revolution under the Somare Government, and this government support that,” explains O’Neill.