The Catholic Church is to carry out a study on the PMIZ (Pacific Marine Industrial Zone) proposed for Madang. The church held the original title to the 216-hectare site.
The study is meant to help inform the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands about what is happening. Fr Philip Gibbs of Mt Hagen Archdiocese is carrying out the study with the help of students from Divine Word University.
The PMIZ would accommodate up to 10 more canneries, as well as fuel depots, container terminals and other facilities for fishing fleets.
The Madang government says its plans to grow Madang as the focal point of regional fishing will help maximise returns for Pacific countries from the important Western and Central Pacific fishery.
Villagers living near the proposed Pacific Marine Industrial Zone development, the majority of whom are Catholics, raised many issues about the project with the World Bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman Vice President Meg Taylor when she visited last month
Issues raised included land issues, increasing social problems such as prostitution and HIV and AIDS threat, the unequal distribution of economic benefits, lack of proper monitoring of foreign vessels and their cargoes, the issue of underwater lease in the village areas and social and environment impact studies.
The villagers said the project site has already become a high risk area for HIV and AIDS because of the ‘sex for fish’ trade that is currently going on.
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Image:Pacific Scoop