Dive Brief:
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The deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed another victim: construction in Liberia.
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Sime Darby, a Malaysian-based palm-oil company, has called off plans for a $2 million expansion of its Liberia plantation and the construction of a mill there. Spokesman Carl Dagenhar said the firm is “maintaining. Anything in addition needs to be put on hold.”
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The company plans to continue paying its 2,881 workers for now.
Dive Insight:
One of Liberia’s largest palm oil plantations, Sime Darby had chosen a contractor and begun preparing for construction, which was to finish up in mid-2015. In the meantime, the company has donated more than $300,000 to the Liberian Red Cross for rubber gloves for health workers. More than 2,800 West Africans—1,578 of them in Liberia--have died from Ebola since March.