Prime Minister James Marape launched the new KKC Veneer Mill in Kurindal in Lasul-Baining, Gazelle district of East New Britain Province yesterday.
The KKC Veneer Mill will shift focus from round log export to downstream processing before exporting.
Prime Minister said the Mill is in line with his government’s plan for downstream processing of logs and other resources in the country.
Therefore his government will support them with incentives.
“The company deserves incentives from my government like export without levy, tax deductible if you build road, health and school to help people” PM Marape said.
“Because you took the risk to come to a remote area which many companies don’t want to come to.”
The company is currently providing 500 to 1000 employment opportunities and spends K100, 000 monthly to people working in areas like logging, mill, reforestation, shipping, and road infrastructure and power production.
The company is providing employment and training to hundreds of young people, as well as building the local economy, in this rural area of East New Britain.
The KKC Veneer Mill is located on a 300-hectare run down cocoa and coconut plantation purchased from Agmark.
The mill has a berthing facility and a sustainable energy plant to provide power for the operations.
When it is in full operation, it will take about 200,000 cubic metres of round log and process it into timber, plywood, wood chip and pellets.
When it goes into full operation, the company will employ up to 3,000 people.
This is the second Veneer Mill in the country, the first one is in Angoram district of East Sepik province.
