6 Feb 2009

CNMI govt department plans to repossess Saipan's only abattoir

12:17 pm on 6 February 2009

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana's Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to repossess the only abattoir on Saipan.

The facility was leased by the department to a private company Seishin Farm Saipan Inc. in 1999.

DLNR Secretary Dr. Ike de la Cruz says the operation was successful but when the demand for pork dropped, coupled with U.S. Department of Agriculture's strict sanitary requirements, the business slowed down until it closed leaving Saipan without an operating abattoir.

The 15-year lease agreement is supposed to expire in 2019.

Hofschneider said Seishin Farm Saipan Inc.'s unpaid lease and abandonment of the property are grounds for the government to repossess the facility, although its thought to be several months before the department takes back possession of the abattoir.