1 week Ago By postcourieronline
FORMER Prime Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday released new documents handed to him which detailed the extensive nature of State Land converted to State Lease for British Virgin Island owned companies connected to Dirio Power Station builders and operators, Pacific Energy Consulting, T20 and Twenty20 Energy. Deputy Prime Minister and Lands Minister John Rosso said he will comment once he confirms the details. But O’Neill said: “The massive 280 plus hectare Caution Bay residential, industrial and resort development appears too good to be true and it probably is.
“How can a massive portion of prime State Land, adjacent to the PNG LNG site, be converted from State Land to a 99-year State Lease without proper consultation or transparency? Perhaps the answer lies in the enthusiastic support the project has received by James Marape? “Mr Marape, and the MD of MRDC visited the masterplan site at Caution Bay to personally lend their endorsement to the luxury golf range; residential properties; hotel and technology park. Rolling out the red carpet for a developer 100% owned in the tax and corruption haven of the British Virgin Islands. The project is known as the Caution Bay development.
According to the developer’s website, https://cautionbay.com “The Caution Bay Resort includes a five-star 180-key hilltop hotel tower, 170 bungalow suites, an iconic pool club and restaurant, a rooftop executive club and fine dining bistro, a conference center featuring a 1000sm grand ballroom, a full facility health spa, and the region’s only glass bottom pool above a sea aquarium forming the awe-inspiring ceiling of the Caution Bay Resort’s main lobby. This was State Land and prior to that, and perhaps still should belong to, the indigenous owners.
This precious Papua New Guinean owned land has been handed to, not sold, but simply transferred to opaque businesses half a world away in the British Virgin Islands. The indigenous landowners of this impressively large area of land must be wondering who and why their prime land has been able to be transferred so easily to a foreign owned company. “In the Lands Board Submission of December 2020, the same developers detail how they were granted the State Land original 33 hectares Dirio Power Station sits on and then were granted additional large portions of State Land with initial plans to build an industrial park including a petrochemical plant.
They then changed their plans to a include a luxury residential, hotel and golf course. The Lands Minister on November 3, 2020, gave notice to exempt from advertisement of the Caution Bay land development citing the reason that it was for business lease (isolated industrial) use. “Why did the Minister use his powers to NOT advertise? Why try to hide this supposed massively important development?” “Has this development been given the same lucrative tax exemptions and import duty exemptions as was handed to Pacific Energy Consulting for the duration of the construction of the Dirio Power Station?” “Has the National Executive Council provided a special economic zone status or similar to the project as they have with the terrible casino deal?” On a survey of the development titled, “Sold vs Available Land CBIP”, 55 hectares is reserved for Pacific Energy Consulting and 67 hectares is apparently pre-sold land.
“Pre-sold to who I wonder? Where is the stamp duty and other transfer document records detailing who bought and for how much did they pay the 32 separate pieces of land totalling 67 hectares of pre-sold land?” “Marape and his Lands Minister need to speak up about how they have facilitated such an impressive master planned development during their tenure and yet kept it very quiet from our people.” “Something very fishy here that needs careful scrutiny as to how this large parcel of land can be turned into super profits by the owners.” “280 hectares of prime State land have been transferred to four companies in the British Virgin Islands and in turn 67 hectares has been pre-sold.
“We deserve to know what is happening to our own land. Why is James Marape unwilling to clear the air on this?” “Our country is saddled with unsustainable debt and our natural resources being sold off to foreigners at a fast rate. What will be left after James Marape has had his way – just a pile of debt so high we will not recover from it.
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