Reports from Papua New Guinea say work on the liquefied natural gas project at Hides in Southern Highlands province has come to a standstill because of a protest.
The Post Courier reports that about 1,000 landowners have staged a peaceful sit-in at the gates of the proposed LNG conditioning plant site at Para village.
A landonwer leader Tony Lambiawi from the Taguali/Tagopali clan says they were frustrated that their application for four million US dollars from the business development grants have been turned down
He claims that at the same time so-called paper landowners based in Port Moresby were paid by the Department of Commerce and Industry.
Another landowner says with the project underway, they need proper housing, electricity, water supply, health care and other social services.
The landowners have asked the state and the ministers concerned to come to Hides and meet them within the next 14 days or else the project would remain shut.
