A Kido landowner has personally invested in Pacific Lime & Cement Limited, saying he wants to go beyond free-carried project equity and become a direct shareholder in the company developing the Central Lime and Cement Project.
Morea H. Onno said he independently purchased PLC shares through the public market after watching the project develop for more than a decade.
“This is my personal decision and my personal view,” Onno said. “Based on what I have seen over many years, I consider PLC to be a sound long-term investment.”
Onno said his confidence comes from seeing the scale and difficulty of building Papua New Guinea’s first integrated lime and cement manufacturing development.
“Projects like this do not simply appear like corner stores,” he said. “They require enormous capital, years of approvals and development, the right raw materials, infrastructure and logistics, and, importantly, a strategic location capable of supporting a major industrial operation for generations.”
The Central Lime and Cement Project is located at Kido and Rea Rea in Central Province. Landowners already have the opportunity to participate through free-carried equity provided by the developer. The PNG Government is also taking an ownership stake and has indicated it may make a portion available to landowners later.
Onno said the location of Kido and Rea Rea gives the project unique advantages that cannot be easily replicated.
“Our location, resources and access to the coast place our communities in a strategically important position for this development,” he said.
He added that Papua New Guinea needs locally made building materials to support roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals, mines and industries, instead of relying on large-scale imports.
“Papua New Guinea needs to be built,” Onno said. “All of these require the basic building materials that our country currently imports in very large quantities.”
Onno said he is proud the industry is being established at Kido and that he is now both a landowner and a shareholder in its future.
He stressed his investment does not represent the views of all Kido or Rea Rea landowners.
“It represents my own decision, made independently, and my own confidence in the future of PLC and the development taking place on our land,” Onno said.
