NLTB to market land

www.fijitimes.com - Wednesday, January 20, 2010

THE Native Land Trust Board will embark on a marketing drive soon to attract interest in the leasing of native land.

This campaign will include the introduction of new products to attract and add maximum value to the land for the landowners' benefit.

NLTB General Manager Alipate Qetaki said the Board would consider all avenues to market these products.

However, all native land transactions must be done with the approval of the Board. Mr Qetaki said the sale of native land was forbidden, unless it was sold to the State.

"Any land sale will be for lease purpose and it will have a beginning and an end," he said.

He said once a land sale was approved, the Board would have to provide terms and conditions before the final approval is given.

"The terms and conditions will have to be negotiated through the legal framework that we have under the Native Land Trust Act," Mr Qetaki said.

"We will be using the internet and all the available technologies that we have. We will be looking at tendering the land."

He said the Board would like to speed up the process of acquiring a lease, especially for investors.