Papua New Guinea cannery development sparks community backlash

There is growing community opposition to a development on Madang Lagoon in Papua New Guinea that is expected to house up to 10 tuna canneries and a fleet base that will rival anything in Asia.

The Pacific Marine Industrial Zone is being built by the government with the aim of becoming one of the world's leading tuna processing nations. PNG Attorney-General Sir Arnold Amet told Pacific Beat he is sure the government can counter the criticism. "This is a different kind of project to a one-off mining project and so the people don't fully understand it," Sir Arnold said. "So the work is on our part. I think when they understand it and we will negotiate. "That's still the key issue - negotiate adequately the equitable distribution of the benefits to the people, then I think the support for it will come."   (Island Business - http://www.islandsbusiness.com)