19 Aug 2008

Talks over New Caledonia Goro project continue amid disagreement over pipeline

3:21 pm on 19 August 2008

Talks between the Goro Nickel company and the group Rheebu Nuu over a waste disposal pipeline are continuing in a bid to reach an agreement for the multi-billion dollar project to proceed.

The group, which includes local fishermen, is against the construction of the pipeline, saying it will contaminate a lagoon that is now a UNESCO World heritage site.

The construction of the pipeline has been stalled since February.

Claudine Wery reports from Noumea.

"The executive manager of Goro Nickel confirms that Goro Nickel will enter into production at the end of this year. His optimism is a bit surprising and the schedule seems to be short. The main reason is that so far no agreement has been signed with the local population opposed to the project. Rheebu Nuu asks to be associated around the environmental monitoring of the plant. No one knows exactly when an agreement will be concluded. But the relations between the two parties seem to be pacified."

Claudine Wery