Papua New Guinea's controversial Pacific Marine Industrial Zone project - a 235 million US dollar proposal to develop a free trade industrial zone in Madang - has been put on hold.
The newspaper, The National, reports a National Court judge, Justice David Cannings, has ordered all work on the project to cease until the court decides whether it is legal.
A 200 million US dollar Chinese loan was raised to develop the project.
The Zone is a proposal for a free-trade area on 217 hectares of land at Vidar situated on the Madang Lagoon.
The intention was to build up to 10 fish canneries, a fishing port complex, container handling facilities, a waste water facility, power plant and other industrial developments.
Lawyers representing customary landowners in Vidar, who are against the project, will return to court on November the 15th.
