KOROR (Palau Horizon) – The China Shenyang International, Economic & Technical Cooperation Corporation City Government through its regional agent, Mr. Narciso D. Cauguiran Jr., met with the members of the
Ngardmau Free trade zone last week to offer an investment loan of not less than $40 million to develop the Ngardmau port into an international commercial port within the area in Ngardmau State which has been zoned by the act of the OEK to be Palau’s Free Trade Zone.
Accompanying Mr. Cauguiran was a delegation of a Truk Pacifica Development Corporation, a Manila base engineering company which was prepared to do a feasibility study for this project. The feasibility study would cost $100,000.
The board members of the Ngardmau Free Trade Zone, Mr. Cauguiran, and the delegation from Truk Pacifica Development Corporation met with representatives of the Palau National Congress (OEK) at Penthouse on July 27, 2009 to request that OEK appropriate the sum of $ 100,000 to fund the feasibility study and pave the way for the extension of the 40 Million dollars soft loan payable on a long term basis.
The members of the Ngardmau Free Trade Zone are: Vice Chairman Lucius Malsol, members: J. Schwartz Tudong – Beouch Designee, Sabo Esebei – Gov. of Ngardmau Designee, Ngirkebai Aichi Kumangai, Ms. Tiare Holms and former Delegate Lucio Ngiraiwet. According to Vice Chairman Malsol and member Esebei who spoke informally, this loan is like a gift from heaven and that without it, we better forget about the Free Trade Zone. Their request for a $100,000 to fund the feasibility study is now before the OEK for appropriation. The China Shenyang International, Economic & Technical Cooperation Corporation had just completed a similar loan in Papua New Guinea in the sum of $90 Million.
