SAVE TIME, SAVE MONEY RE-DECK WITH NIUDECK

PacTow expands its Tug Fleet again

Melanesian marine services company, Pacific Towing (PacTow), has added yet another tug to its fleet. The Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tug ‘Tavurvur’ is a specialised harbour tug and will be permanently stationed at PacTow’s dedicated tug base in Port Moresby. Tavurvur is the second of two tugs purchased by PacTow this year as part of the company’s ongoing fleet expansion program.

Tavurvur (originally ‘Nimble’) was purchased out of Singapore, where she was also reflagged. The tug shares many similarities to Koranga, another ASD tug PacTow purchased in the first half of 2022 for permanent deployment in Lae. Tavurvur is in class with Lloyd’s Register, 30 metres long, and with a bollard pull of 60 tonnes.

General Manager, Neil Papenfus, confirms that the last decade has been one of diversification and growth for PacTow and that re-fleeting is necessary for this to continue. “We’ve diversified our service offerings, especially when it comes to servicing the oil and gas sector, while simultaneously delivering our services further afield. For example, in the last few years we’ve had our tugs and crews in Indonesia, Micronesia, Northern Australia, and even in United States’ waters when conducting a tandem towage project for a client in Guam.”

However, harbour towage is still PacTow’s core business. “The two specialised harbour tugs we’ve purchased this year ensure that we can easily and safely maintain our current levels of service in the two biggest and most important ports in the country – Lae and Port Moresby. Tavurvur and Koranga also help ‘free up’ other tugs in our 21-vessel fleet for unscheduled projects such as emergency response and salvage just about anywhere in the region, as well as for unexpected maintenance” explains Papenfus.

PacTow has operations throughout Papua New Guinea, as well as in Solomon Islands and Fiji, but also services broader Oceania and Southeast Asia. The majority of PacTow’s 200+ staff (97 percent of whom are Melanesian) are also located at the Port Moresby facility where new tug Tavurvur will be stationed. Also, at PacTow’s Port Moresby tug base is a HACCP certified camp, training facilities, life raft station, as well as fully equipped marine engineering and fabrication workshops.

PacTow delivers excellent, reliable, and safe marine services through PNG and the broader Pacific. A well-maintained fleet, as well as a dedicated and exceptionally trained team underpin PacTow’s ongoing expansion and success. PacTow is part of a larger sea and land logistics group wholly owned by Steamships Limited.

To learn more about PacTow: www.pacifictowingmarineservices. com. 3rd Engineer Francis Ngihal (previously a cadet in Pacific Towing’s cadetship program) is one of 10 crew who will sail ASD harbour tug ‘Tavurvur’ nearly 3,000 nautical miles from Singapore to Port Moresby. The tug was named after the volcano that destroyed the town of Rabaul in 1994.

Part of a 21-vessel fleet, Pacific Towing’s latest tug acquired as part of its fleet expansion program will be dedicated to harbour towage and permanently stationed at the company’s dedicated tug base in Port Moresby.

FINCORP TRANSFORMS LAE BRANCH

FinCorp embarks on a transformation program as it commences a nationwide branch upgrade that will incorporate the newly revitalized Fincorp brand.

The roll out commences with the relocation of the Lae branch, to the Nambawan Super Building, Section: 49, Allotment: 3 – 7, Office 4, Lae, Morobe Province.

FinCorp first opened its Lae branch doors in 1998, where the Milfordhaven Road branch, was positioned to service the Lae clientele. Since then, Lae has expanded, the township has grown and so has FinCorp’s loyal customer base.

“As our customer needs continue to evolve, it’s important that the FinCorp brand reflects our commitment to grow with our customers. Our new facilities offer a more convenient and accessible location to our customers and easier access to our friendly customer service staff,” CEO Fincorp, Brett Tayler, said.

The new Fincorp facilities in Lae Top town will cater for a larger customer service area and boasts greater space and privacy.

“Fincorp has been servicing the people of Morobe province for over twenty years, so It’s timely and fitting, that we launch the first FinCorp rebranded modernized facility, here in Lae. Our new facilities will offer our customers and staff a professional and inclusive zone, where our customers’ needs can be discussed privately and in comfort,” Tayler added.

(Photo above) Bridge re-decking and widening with NiuDeck in Bulolo; (Left photo) Sydney railway transoms being replaced with NiuDeck.

NiuDeck from PNG Forest Products is a cost-effective heavy plywood decking system, purpose designed and engineered for re-decking traditional timber and steel bridges for road, wharf, and rail applications.

With a treatment warranty of 50+ years, NiuDeck requires little maintenance due to PNGFP’s unique veneer preservation treatment, which ensures complete protection from termites, fungal decay, and rotting.

Quick and easy to install, the product’s durability and longevity are further enhanced with the application of a bitumen surface.

Another great advantage of NiuDeck is its facility to widen existing bridges using cantilevers. This allows for the provision of pedestrian walkways or wider lanes for vehicle safety.

The product’s light weight and ease of installation adds to the cost savings with ease of transport and shortened installation time, making NiuDeck a far more cost-effective solution than other building materials such as concrete and steel.

Developed by PNGFP as a renewable alternative to hardwood sawn timber, NiuDeck is manufactured from 100% sustainable PNG plantation pine.

Suitable for a range of load conditions including Austroads T44 and AS 5100 Bridge Design, NiuDeck is used widely by local and state governments in Australia and New Zealand due to the product’s superior strength, light weight, durability, flexibility, fast installation time and low cost.

The peak body for the timber industry in Queensland has welcomed these products as a demonstration of the versatility and innovation of using Engineered Wood Products in bridge construction.

“Using prefabricated timber systems in bridges is gaining greater market recognition due to their inherent strength, light weight and low carbon emissions footprint compared to other construction materials”, said the CEO of Timber Queensland, Mick Stephens.

Save Time, Save Money… Re-deck with NiuDeck

NiuDeck on New England Hwy Emu Creek, Qld (Photo above) NiuDeck installation on Todd Bridge, SE Qld; (Photo below) NZ’s Rakaia Gorge Bridge re-decked with PNGFP NiuDeck

The National Energy Authority: Powering PNG

By Miriam Mandibi

On 21 April 2021, the PNG Parliament passed the National Energy Authority Act 2020 (NEA Act) and the Electricity Industry (Amendment) Act 2020 (Amending Act) (together the Acts).

The Acts provide for the establishment of the National Energy Authority (the NEA) and is responsible for the regulation of the electricity supply and gas downstream industry in PNG. These functions include both the technical and economic regulation of the industry.

Brief Background

The NEA was the Energy Wing of the former Department of Petroleum and Energy and confined to only policy matters on renewable energy sources.

The NEA was established as a result of the National Energy Policy 2017 – 2027, Harnessing Energy for Life- which highlights the GoPNG’s target of harnessing renewable energy sources and providing electricity for 70% of households in PNG by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

Though becoming public in 1963 a meagre 15% of households in PNG accessed electricity. It is unfortunate electricity supply services of PPL never found its way outside urban and/or town peripheries. This vital service remained somewhat stagnant, and something of a luxury service for only a handful of privileged public servants for over fifty years.

Though PNG Power Limited was tasked to generation, transmission, and retail of electricity to Papua New Guineans juggling responsibilities as a regulator at the same time trying to make a profit was obviously a handful for the SOE.

To this day the same challenges of developing new power generations, transmission infrastructure and a robust retail market remain our challenge but already we are seeing promising investments and development taking place, as PEP countries, friendly countries, development partners, multinationals beginning to help, invest and generally taking interest in investing in PNG’s rich energy sector.

The next decades will be a testament of the sacrifice and leadership NEA and stakeholders put into today to develop the energy sector for our people, businesses today and the generation after.

Key takeaways for the energy industry

The effects of these Acts towards the activities of independent power producers, particularly the holders of generation licences are: • NEA assumes the economic regulatory functions of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (the ICCC); • Licences issued under the Electricity Industry Act (Ch. 78) (EI Act) and the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act 2002 (ICCC Act) are preserved under the NEA Act; • NEA has the ability to charge levies and fees, including levies on generation licences; • NEA has the power to ‘take over’ the operations of the power producers where there is a breach of licence conditions; • NEA National Content provisions will apply to licensees; and • NEA has the power and responsibility to obtain, and regulate the use of, gas provided by gas producers, in satisfaction of domestic market obligations.

The operations in the electricity supply industry for which a licence is required include:

• the generation of electricity; • the operation of a transmission network; • the operation of a distribution network; and • the retailing of electricity.

The NEA is the regulator of the electricity industry in PNG and applications are made to it for the issuance of any of the above licences.

Codes and rules

The NEA is responsible for the drafting and implementing the codes or rules relating to the conduct or operations of a participant in a regulated industry. To that end, the NEA has issued: • The Electricity Code; • The Third Party Access Code; and • The Grid Code.

Reform

Licencing and regulation of the electricity supply industry for independent power producers is expected to change, although the process for issuance of regulatory contracts will remain the same.

National Electrification Trust Fund

The National Electrification Trust Fund is established for the implementation of the National Electrification Roll-Out Plan. The NEROP is the national plan approved by the National Executive Council to be implemented in order to meet the national objective of electricity access to 70% of Papua New Guinea households by 2030.

Levies and fees

The Authority will have the ability to charge levies and fees on licences granted under the NEA Act, including levies on generation licences granted under the NEA Act.

National content

National content provisions will now apply to all new projects set to kick off under this new regime, with ‘project’ meaning projects licenced under the NEA Act for the generation, transmission, distribution or retailing of electricity.

Papua New Guinea’s Regulation for Small Power Systems presented to the National Energy Authority (NEA) by the United Nations Development Program aims to facilitate the promotion of access to affordable clean energy.

Marape targets agriculture growth with four ministries given to sector

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the allocation of four ministries to the agriculture sector is a complete paradigm shift to get agriculture moving again.

The Marape Government’s focus on ‘Taking Back PNG’ is deeply embedded in the agriculture sector – which is the backbone of Papua New Guinea to drive the country and economy.

The Prime Minister said it was no secret that agriculture had declined since Independence in 1975, and allocation of the four ministries was to rekindle the sector, for it to be a major income-generator for PNG.

PM Marape said this when explaining the rationale for his allocating four ministries to the agriculture sector.

“Albert Einstein once said, ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result’, which is exactly what has happened to the PNG agriculture sector since 1975,” he said.

Goroka MP Hon. Aiye Tambua (Pangu Pati) is the Agriculture Minister responsible for administration of the department and tree crops and horticulture (fresh produce). The Department of Agriculture and Livestock has been beset with ongoing controversies and management issues over the years;

Nakanai MP Hon. Francis Maneke (Pangu) is Minister for Oil Palm, PNG’s biggest and most-valuable agriculture crop, which brings in over K1 billion a year. Minister Maneke is from Nakanai, West New Britain, one of the biggest oil palm districts in PNG and has been a strong advocate for the industry;

South Fly MP Hon. Seki Agisa (Pangu) is Minister for Livestock, an industry which thrived pre-Independence, but has since been reduced to a skeleton of its former self. Western, Minister Agisa’s home province, has huge tracts of unused land which can be used for development of livestock; and

Anglimp-South Wahgi MP Hon. Joe Kuli (United Resources Party) is Minister for Coffee, another crop which has seen better days, but no longer produces the same volume it once used to. The Wahgi Valley, Minister Kuli’s home, once housed some of the biggest coffee plantations in PNG which grew the fledgling industry in the 1960s. One of his major tasks will be to revive the legendary Wahgi Mek plantations of the valley.

“We want to see import replacement and more exports within the agriculture sector, which is we have allocated four separate ministries to agriculture,” PM Marape said.

“Hon. Aiye Tambua brings in freshness, vigor and energy to this key sector that we want to ramp up for it to be a substantial, if not the major sustainable contributor to our economy, not just now but forever into the future.

“His home of Goroka and Eastern Highlands has some of the best agriculture land in the country which must be utilised.

“Copra, cocoa, vanilla and other spices, and rice will be the key focuses of Minister Tambua as Agriculture Minister.

“I have already said that I want East Sepik to become the vanilla capital of the world and an international hub for the cocoa trade.

“This is not an impossibility, with Papua New Guinea – mainly through East Sepik – being one of the top vanilla producers in the world with the World Bank predicting that PNG will soon become No. 2 after Madagascar.

“East Sepik is also the top producer of cocoa in PNG with the country’s cocoa being rated very highly in the world for quality.

“The Government has plains to develop the massive Sepik Plains into the biggest agriculture hub of the country.”

PM Marape said the oil palm industry laws and regulations were outdated and needed to be changed to see more benefits to PNG.

“Oil palm is the largest agriculture commodity in PNG, contributing about 40 per cent – K1.2 billion annually – of PNG’s export revenue in the agriculture sector,” he said.

“However, the irony of it all is that the large multi-national companies who dominate the industry, operate in an unregulated industry.

“The Oil Palm Industry Corporation (OPIC) only provides extension services to smallholder growers, whereas, the big players control the industry – that is the concern.

“My Government is committed to reviewing the OPIC Act to bring about long-overdue changes within the billion-kina industry.

“Oil palm is a billion-kina agriculture industry, and under Minister Maneke, will be given specific targets – especially in increasing production.

“We have so much land that is lying around idle and Minister Maneke will be tasked to use this to increase production, as well as help the existing industry to grow.”

PM Marape said PNG’s livestock industry must to revived urgently for import replacement as well as to be an exporter.

“Once upon a time, the Highlands Highway from Mt Hagen to Lae, was filled with cattle on the roadsides,” he recalled.

“Papua New Guinea had a thriving cattle industry, started in the colonial days, by experienced Aus-

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Domestic market obligations

The Authority now has the power and responsibility to obtain, and regulate the use of, gas provided by gas producers, in satisfaction of domestic market obligations.

The Authority may also, in consultation with the State, regulate: • gas utilisation for power generation, including safety standards for off-take of gas from producers, transport of gas to electricity project sites, storage, usage and environmental considerations for utilisation of gas; and • the storage, distribution, and usage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Statutory easements for transmission lines

Following commencement of the Amending Act, the list of functions of the ICCC, as well as parts of the EI Act relating to land access and ownership of transmission lines, safety and technical requirements and offences have now been repealed.

Some of the sections of the EI Act which have now been repealed provided statutory easements for transmission lines of existing licence holders, as well as protections from removal or tampering with existing electricity infrastructure. These provisions have been reproduced in the NEA Act and that Regulations may provide for existing licence holders to be classified as electricity undertakers under the NEA Act for specific provisions of the NEA Act including relation to the statutory easements and land access provisions under the NEA Act.

Corporate Policy 2022 – 2027 and Policies

The proposed NEA Corporate Plan 2022–27 outlines our objectives, which are to: • encourage investor confidence in the country’s renewable energy sources • promote and develop the necessary regulatory framework for downstream gas • promote and develop rural electrification programs • protect vulnerable consumers, while enabling consumers to participate in energy markets • deliver efficient regulation of monopoly infrastructure while incentivising networks to become platforms for energy services • effectively regulate competitive markets primarily through monitoring and reporting, and enforcement and compliance • use our expertise to inform debate about PNG’s energy future and support the energy transition.

We are also in draft stages of developing separate policies for the different renewable sources of energy which will help mitigate climate change, build resilience to volatile prices and lower energy costs.

We are also responsible for the policy development in the energy sector including compliance, guidelines, codes and other energy sources development plans.

We understand the lack of access to finance under reasonable terms makes the costly upfront investments in renewable energy unaffordable. But we believe that by creating a conducive environment can attract investments and by fostering understanding, respect, and trust with our friend countries much assistance in development aid and technology can be provided to develop many of PNG’s renewable energy sources.

Our primary role into the future will become more regulatory as more households and businesses have access to electricity and gas. Our job will be to enforce the energy market laws as stipulated under National Energy Act and Electricity Industry (Amendment) Act 2021, and as the availability of electricity and gas expansion become widespread so will the necessity of the NEA’s operations and necessity to enact a Retail Law to regulate and enforce the burgeoning energy market.

We are committed to engaging with investors, development partners and their representatives, and peak bodies, and other stakeholders. We are in the process of creating several stakeholder forums to give us advice. These bodies include the Incorporated Consumer Competition Commission (ICCC), PNG Power Limited (PPL) and PEP countries for guidance and support.

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tralian cattlemen.

“Starting at Corn Farm outside Mt Hagen, to Six-Mile outside Lae, you could find thousands of cattle.

“Sadly, since Independence in 1975, PNG’s cattle numbers have dropped to an all-time low.

“Settlers moved in on State land used for cattle and abattoirs.

“The Livestock Development Corporation (LDC), following a direction from my Government, is moving to take back all State land occupied by settlers and use to rebuild PNG’s cattle industry.

“The State Land Reclamation Project was launched by former Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, John Simon, at Corn Farm at the border of Western Highlands and Jiwaka last December.

“Minister Agisa will ensure that this is continued as well as ensure that areas like his own province of Western, which has so much grassland, can be used to raise cattle with Indonesia and Australia just next door.

“He will be given the necessary Budget support to unleash the full potential of the livestock industry in our country. The irony is that for a country with so much grassland for raising cattle and other livestock, we continue to import meat, something that must stop.”

PM Marape said coffee was another industry that needed to be revived to bring in more export revenue, and Minister Kuli knew this, being from the Wahgi Valley of Jiwaka.

“As you drive along the great Wahgi Valley of Jiwaka, one of the agriculture hubs of PNG, you see a heart-breaking sight,” he said.

“Miles and miles of once-flourishing coffee plantations are now covered by bush or taken over by settlers.

“These are the sad remains of Wahgi Mek Plantations, which from 1973 to 1999, generated millions of kina in export revenue for the country. It goes without saying that PNG’s declining coffee production has been largely due to the collapse of the 14 Wahgi Mek plantations.

“It is the same sad situation not only in the Wahgi Valley, but right throughout PNG.

“The once-great PNG coffee industry has completely lost its focus since 1975. Minister Kuli’s focus will be coffee, coffee, coffee.

“I want to drink coffee made in Goroka, Mt Hagen, Lae and other parts of the country. I want to see more coffee grown for export to the lucrative markets of the world.”

PM Marape said over the last three years, his Government has given million of kina support to agriculture, through price and freight subsidies and SME support.

“We are now targeting specific commodities through establishment of the four agriculture ministries,” he said.

“Over the next two weeks, we will give specific production targets for coffee, oil palm and our major agriculture commodities.”