The Solomon Islands government is about to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with a Papua New Guinea company, New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, to re-activate the oil palm industry on the Guadalcanal Plains.
The Finance Ministry says it hopes the new company will be built around and will expand the original Solomon Islands Plantation Ltd or SIPL.
SIPL employed nearly 2000 people, but closed down shortly after ethnic unrest began in 1999.
It had been one of the two main export income earners for the country, along with the Gold Ridge gold mine.
