Restrictions placed on Pacific Cement's permit to offload clinker in Lami

Strict conditions have been placed on the permit issued to Pacific Cement for the offloading of clinker from the Kings Wharf and its transportation to the Lami factory in Fiji.

Permanent Secretary for Environment, Joshua Wycliffe, has given his assurance that certain conditions given in the permit is in line with the High Court ruling earlier this year, when the company was banned from offloading clinker from barges to trucks in Lami. However, Mr Wycliffe was prevented from disclosing the contents of the permit.

Mr Wycliffe did disclose a monitoring system has been initiated to check the offloading and the transportation of clinker to the factory. In their meeting with Pacific Cement, he says they have established a joint committee that would work closely with the ministry to monitor the impact on the environment. He says they have assigned specific staff in the waste management unit to play a supportive role in ensuring that the environment is protected and air pollution is minimised to protect the people living along Lami area.

In an earlier ruling by High Court, Judge Deepthi Amaratunga had ordered Pacific Cement Ltd to ban the offloading of the clinker from barges to the truck in Lami and did not allow a permit to offload the clinker from trucks to the barge in Lami.

The company has also been asked to offload the clinker into the truck and take it directly to the factory as the clinker dust was also hazardous to the environment.