By CHRISTOPHER YANDAWAI
MEMBER for Kikori and Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs, Hon. Soroi Eoe is very optimistic about the proposed Ihu Special Economic Zone (ISEZ)’s progress.
He said this project is coming at the back of the upcoming Papua LNG Project and will complement well other developments that are already running in the district.
Minister Eoe said ISEZ is basically put in place to optimize the opportunities that Papua LNG project will bring in when it gets off the ground and running.
“So, when I came into parliament in 2017, I already moved to establishing ourselves. I do not want to let go resources for Kikori district in Gulf province without maximizing opportunities.
“So now it’s making sense, lots of people can see the connection between what I was doing,” Minister Eoe said.
He said now that the Papua LNG coming, we need to do downstream processing of not only gas but we are talking about liquids by developing fuel products.
“Recently, Puma has held the country at ransom because we do not have alternative like downstream processing facility. We do not have government organized facilities to do downstream processing,” Minister Eoe said.
“One of the biggest problems this country and the government faced is the issue about portion of much is naturally ours; that come as 20 per cent Domestic Market Obligation (DMO).
“We missed out on this big time.
“We did not negotiate for the first PNG LNG because we didn’t have the facility for downstream processing.
“So, Ihu SEZ is basically the facility for us to develop this concept. Why not?
“I am a resource owner and we have every right to demand, not for the benefit of myself but for the nation.
“Now we have a facility that need to be developed so that we can stop that 20 per cent DMO that should come to us but leaving overseas.
“I thank Prime Minister James Marape for seeing this from the very beginning when Ihu SEZ was first launched in 2018 during APEC meeting.”
Minister Eoe said PM was there but he was a finance minister under the O’Neill Government.
“He could see and gave support when he became prime minister all the way up now. Now we have the ability but also, we have the grounds to negotiate for DMO. Well, I’m just hoping and praying that we will develop our concept and develop our own downstream processing for the nation,” the Minister said.
“Kikori district owns 80 per cent of oil and gas and we must access DMO component for this nation so that we can address our own internal needs.
“Otherwise, we exporting out and bring them back at high cost. As a result, in some instance, those foreign companies held us at ransom and that has been going on and its continuing.”
The Kikori MP made these remarks while presenting K10 million cheque to Kikori District Hospital on behalf of the National Government a week ago.
