Barama 1.6M hectares concession to be distributed in April

the Natural Resources Ministry is expected to begin, in April, distributing the forest concessions that were given up by Malaysian company Barama Company Limited.

Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has said that 17 Expressions of Interest have been received for the 1.6M hectares of land previously under Barama control.

“We are in the process of reviewing (those expressions), and will be in a position to start allocating in April,” Trotman said.

Last October, Barama announced that it would not renew its concession agreement after its expiry date of October 15, 2016. The lands were then reverted to the State.

Trotman dismissed recent claims by the Private Sector Commission, which appeared in the local media, that concessions were not being given out. The minister noted that the statements were inaccurate.

“We had to have a period of advertisement, a period of analysing the responses; and we will be redistributing later this year,” Trotman explained. He pointed out that 70 concessions were last December given out to small loggers throughout the country.