PNG Business News - Issue 4, 2022

Moody’s changes Papua New Guinea’s outlook to stable from negative; affirms B2 rating

Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) said in Novem ber it has changed the out look on the Government of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) ratings to sta ble from negative. Concurrently, the B2 long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings have been af firmed.

The change of the outlook to sta ble is driven by a stabilization in the government’s debt burden arising in part from the positive terms of trade shock from higher global prices for PNG’s commodity exports, as well as a renewed commitment to long-term fiscal sustainability that has been reinforced by its re-engagement with development partners. Moody’s now expects a stable debt burden and debt affordability in the next few years. In addition, government liquidity and external vulnerability risks have ebbed given improve ments in domestic funding conditions and the balance of payments, lead ing to lower domestic interest rates and higher foreign exchange re serves, respectively, which Moody’s expects to continue.

The affirmation of the B2 rating reflects the confluence of relatively weak economic strength, institutions and governance strength, and sus ceptibility to event risk. Nonetheless, progress on large resource projects, particularly for liquefied natural gas (LNG), improve the outlook for me dium-term growth and fiscal repair, while the re-election of the gov ernment of Prime Minister James Marape allows for policy continuity and no meaningful deviation from the negotiations already conducted with regards to the large resource projects or with development part ners and the International Monetary Fund.

PNG’s local currency (LC) and foreign currency (FC) country ceil

ings remain unchanged at Ba2 and B1, respectively. The LC ceiling, three notches above the B2 rating, reflects the low predictability and reliability of government institutions, as well as domestic political risks; moreover, while the government does not pos sess a major footprint in the econo my — its ownership in large resource ventures is in most cases a minority share

— its revenue base is exposed to the resources sector. The FC ceiling, two notches below the LC ceiling, takes into account relatively high external indebtedness, weak macro policy effectiveness, and capital ac count restrictions, as continued for eign exchange restrictions constrain kina convertibility and periodically delay offshore payments.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Fiscal Stabilization Guided By Higher Commodity Prices

PNG’s fiscal and debt metrics have stabilized on the back of higher global prices for PNG’s commodity exports, including LNG and petro leum, mineral products such as gold, copper and nickel, as well as agricul tural goods such as coffee, palm oil and copra. Moody’s expects growth momentum to continue to support stabilization, especially as large re source projects like Papua LNG are expected to progress in the coming years.

PNG’s government debt likely peaked at 51.6% of GDP in 2021 and will stabilize around 50% over the next two to three years; previously, the rating agency projected govern ment debt to climb towards 55% of GDP by 2022. Debt affordability as measured by the government’s inter est payments as a share of its reve nue is expected to decline to around 13.5% from a peak of around 18% in

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Rationale For The Change Of Outlook To Stable From Negative

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2020, at the time that the negative outlook was assigned in early 2021, Moody’s forecasted the interest payments-to-revenue ratio to remain around 20% through 2022.

The stabilization of PNG’s fiscal metrics since last year has been driven by higher mineral and petro leum receipts — including royalties, taxes and dividends — higher grant support from development partners and healthier indirect taxes that re flect the recovery in economic ac tivity from the COVID trough. At the same time, fiscal consolidation has not been disrupted by targeted fiscal measures to help households and businesses cope with higher in flation.

Fiscal performance has been augmented by traction on reforms, including the introduction of a me dium-term fiscal framework with revised fiscal rules, a medium-term revenue strategy, proposed im provements in tax administration, SOE restructuring, arrears resolution and expenditure restraint, among others.

Re-Engagement With Development Partners Eases Government

Liquidity Risks

PNG’s demonstrated progress on reforms, including its performance under successive IMF Staff Mon itored Programs (SMPs) over the past two years, reflects a renewed emphasis on engagement with the international community as com pared with previous governments. Although the SMPs did not entail fi nancial support, they were designed specifically to support the reform agenda which did help to unlock financing from other official devel opment partners, particularly from Australia (Aaa stable).

The government is negotiating another program through the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility that is ex pected to commence in 2023, under pinning Moody’s expectation of con tinued progress on reform given the conditionalities attached to multilat eral and bilateral financing. The shift

towards more concessional funding sources and away from the PNG government’s traditional reliance on domestic market-based financ ing will help to lower debt servicing costs and debt affordability, as well as bolster external stability.

Strengthening External Position Aids In Macro Stability

The positive terms of trade shock resulting from higher commodity prices over the past year has also strengthened PNG’s external po sition, augmented by higher pro duction on the back of the easing of supply disruptions from COVID restrictions. Going forward, a mod eration in commodity prices and the expected reopening of one of the country’s largest gold mines will lead to lower, but still elevated current account surpluses that will contrib ute to an ongoing build-up in foreign currency reserves.

Despite a wider deficit in the fi nancial account given distortions re lated to resident mineral companies’ preference to retain export receipts offshore, higher commodity prices and production volumes helped to lift PNG’s foreign currency reserves to a record high of $3.4 billion in August 2022 from $2.4 billion at the end of 2019. As such, import cover has im proved to over 11 months from around 7 months over the same period.

Moody’s projects that forthcom ing cross-border debt repayments as a share of foreign currency reserves will fall to around 77% of foreign cur rency reserves for 2023 from over 90% in 2022 and around 150% in 2021.

In contrast to other developing economies that have been nega tively affected by tightening global liquidity conditions, PNG has been shielded from capital flow volatility in part due to ongoing capital account restrictions. While the exchange rate has been stable against the US dol lar, the kina’s appreciation versus the Australian dollar has helped to tem per imported inflation as compared to other countries with headline CPI rising to 5.9% year-on-year in the Q1

2022 from a recent trough of 3.3% in Q2 2021, before moderating to 5.5% in Q2 2022. Excess liquidity in the financial system has also helped to lower domestic interest rates and supports funding conditions for the government.

Rationale For The Affirmation Of The B2 Ratings

PNG’s B2 rating reflects the con fluence of relatively weak economic strength, institutions and govern ance strength, and susceptibility to event risk.

Economic strength remains con strained by its small size, low per capita income and narrow diversifi cation given the large reliance on ex tractive industries, such as hydrocar bon production and mining, as well as a large exposure to agriculture. However, the medium-term outlook is bolstered by improved prospects for further large resource projects, particularly for LNG.

The commercial viability of the pipeline of large LNG projects has improved in the context of the pre vailing risks to global energy securi ty following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Caa3 negative), as well as global commitments to reduce car bon emissions. PNG’s geographical proximity to key importing countries, such as China (A1 stable) and Japan (A1 stable), are also seen as a key competitive advantage relative to other potential suppliers in the Mid dle East or sub-Saharan Africa. LNG is also seen as an important transi tion fuel as countries in Asia-Pacific seek to lower their reliance on coal, thus supporting the demand for the additions to global supply posed by these new projects.

Given the lack of diversification and limited prospects of develop ment of the non-resource sector relative to extractive industries — including agriculture, mining and hydrocarbon production — PNG’s exposure to carbon transition risk and physical climate change, such as climate-related natural disasters, will remain elevated and drive a very highly negative exposure to environ mental risk.

Notwithstanding the recent pro gress on reform that has helped to stabilize PNG’s credit profile, our overall assessment of institutions and governance strength has remained unchanged, reflecting the high risks with regards to the execution of the proposed path towards medium-term fiscal consolidation.

In the near-term, downside risks from the pandemic also persist. While COVID infection rates have been very low for much of 2022, only about 3% of the population has been fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in the world.

Environmental, Social, Governance Considerations

PNG’s very highly negative (CIS5) ESG Credit Impact Score reflects very high exposure to environmental and social risks, further weakened by institutional challenges related to government policy effectiveness, control of corruption and overall legal structures, notwithstanding ongoing support from development partners.

PNG has a very highly negative exposure to environmental risks (E-5 IPS). It is both exposed to ongoing climate change, particularly extreme rainfall and heat stress, as well as longer-term carbon transition risks,

given the sovereign’s exposure to hydrocarbons as a source of reve nue and export receipts. Economic growth is inextricably tied to the potential impact from both gradual and sudden climate events. Moreo ver, PNG’s resources sector, which includes oil, gas, gold and copper, among others, contributes greater than one-fourth of the economy’s total value-added and around 90% of export revenue, while the gov ernment’s revenue performance fluctuates with prevailing commodity prices and the tax take on resource agreements. Separately, given large areas of land that are underdevel oped, access to water remains a constraint on economic develop ment, yet provides for high levels of natural capital, in both strong forest

ation and large untapped deposits of natural resources.

PNG exposure to social risks is very highly negative (S-5). Access to basic services continues to con strain economic development, while other societal issues, including gen der-based violence, political unrest, and widespread poverty, particu larly in the country’s most rural are as, remain present, although these issues are not significantly more severe than for similarly-rated de veloping economies. The govern ment continues to direct resources towards its long-term development plan, which prioritizes raising living standards and increasing formal job opportunities.

PNG’s weak institutions and gov ernance profile constrain its rating, To Page

as captured by a highly negative G issuer profile score (G-4). Weak nesses in government effectiveness, control of corruption and rule of law, while the credibility of legal struc tures is also limited. While ongoing support from development partners provides technical capacity in some areas, overall structural reforms re main limited.

• GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 3,921 (2021) (also known as Per Cap ita Income)

• Real GDP growth (% change): 1.5% (2021) (also known as GDP Growth)

• Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 5.7% (2021)

• Gen. Gov. Financial Balance/ GDP: -6.7% (2021) (also known as Fis cal Balance)

• Current Account Balance/GDP: 21.2% (2021) (also known as External Balance)

• External debt/GDP: 71.9% (2021)

• Economic resiliency: b2

• Default history: No default events (on bonds or loans) have been recorded since 1983.

On 07 November 2022, a rat ing committee was called to discuss the rating of the Papua New Guin ea, Government of. The main points raised during the discussion were: The issuer’s economic fundamen tals, including its economic strength, have not materially changed. The issuer’s institutions and govern ance strength, have not materially changed. The issuer’s fiscal or fi nancial strength, including its debt profile, has materially increased. The issuer’s susceptibility to event risks has not materially changed.

Factors That Could Lead To An Upgrade Or Downgrade Of The Ratings

An acceleration in fiscal deficit and debt reduction along with a sig nificant reduction in gross borrowing requirements than Moody’s currently expects would lead to upward pres sure on the rating. Improvements in the management of the exchange rate that facilitates the development of the non-resource sector and en hances economic diversification, while simultaneously maintaining macroeconomic and external stabil ity, would be credit positive. Over the longer term, the implementation of key resource sector investments that generates positive economic spillovers and boosts growth poten tial would also contribute to upward rating pressure.

The rating could be downgraded if the prospects for fiscal consolida tion and associated stabilization of the government’s debt, as well as the implementation of large investments in PNG’s natural resources wealth,

is significantly weaker than current ly assumed. In addition, lackluster implementation of the government’s reform agenda that contributes to higher liquidity stress--including more constrained access to exter nal concessional financing and a sustained decline in the stock of for eign-exchange reserves--would also prompt a downgrade.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in Novem ber 2019 and available at https:// ratings.moodys.com/api/rmc-docu ments/63168 . Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on https://ratings.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

The weighting of all rating fac tors is described in the methodolo gy used in this credit rating action, if applicable.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody’s key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assump tions in the disclosure form. Moody’s Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found on https://ratings.moodys.com/ rating-definitions .

For ratings issued on a program, se ries, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain reg ulatory disclosures in relation to each rat ing of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclu sively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody’s rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this an nouncement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in re lation to each particular credit rating ac tion for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider’s credit rating. For provisional ratings, this an nouncement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a de finitive rating that may be assigned sub sequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction struc ture and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see

the issuer/deal page for the respective issuer on https://ratings.moodys.com.

For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this cred it rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclo sures will be those of the guarantor en tity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Dis closure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity. The ratings have been dis closed to the rated entity or its designat ed agent(s) and issued with no amend ment resulting from that disclosure.

These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody’s Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website https://ratings. moodys.com. Regulatory disclosures con tained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the relat ed rating outlook or rating review.

Moody’s general principles for as sessing environmental, social and gov ernance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://ratings.moodys. com/documents/PBC_1288235 .

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody’s affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody’s Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regula tion (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody’s office that issued the credit rating is avail able on https://ratings.moodys.com.

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody’s affiliates out side the UK and is endorsed by Moody’s Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody’s office that issued the cred it rating is available on https://ratings. moodys.com. Please see https://ratings. moodys.com for any updates on chang es to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody’s legal entity that has issued the rating. Please see the issuer/deal page on https://ratings.moodys.com for ad ditional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.

Research Ranks PNG’S GDP Above Other Pacific Nations

By Paul Oeka

Despite major setbacks faced by many economies of Island Nations throughout the Pacific due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russian war from 2019 to 2021, a recent study and report re leased by the Australian National University (ANU) show that PNG’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been progressing well compared to other Pacific Island Nations.

The University’s research report reveals that PNG’s non-resources GDP growth rate was progressing at a level of 7 percent per annum while other pacific island countries performed relatively low. And this is expected to increase by 13.2 percent next year. In comparison, the analysis made by the Australi an National University shows that the Solomon Islands GDP growth rate was recorded at a negative 6 percent, Samoa’s negative 11 per cent, Fiji at a negative 1 percent, and Vanuatu at 0 percent.

Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey was moved by the ANU report and ex pressed his gratitude to the Gov ernment for sustaining the econo my under trying times.

“This is very good news for the Government in sustaining the econ omy during the global Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Rus sian war”. Even when we look at total GDP, including the resource sector PNG was only behind Tuva lu in which they have a population of about 1000th to that of PNG”. Treasurer Ling-Stuckey said.

PNG has weathered and is ex pected to weather the global eco nomic storms from Covid-19 and the Ukraine-Russian war much better than our neighbours, “the Treasurer said. Ling-Stuckey stated that some of these had to do with different economic structures but much is due to good, responsible, and re sponsive economic management. While PNG has performed very well

in terms of the Pacific, Treasurer Ling-Stuckey stressed that the performance is just above de veloping countries as a whole.

“This is why we need to continue on our path of budget repair, strengthening of insti tutions, and increasing our non-resource GDP growth, these are vital steps towards reach ing economic independence”. The country’s Treasurer said.

T I N A T I O N S • O N E L O Y A L T Y P R O G R A M

Rosso: Gov’t ‘Well Prepared’ For Better Service

By Paul Oeka

On Papua New Guinea’s In dependence Day last Sept. 16, Acting Prime Minister John Rosso assured heads of gov ernment, departmental heads, the diplomatic corps, and the country that the government is better and well-prepared to deliver services to the people.

During his inaugural indepen dence speech as Acting Prime Minister, Mr. Rosso said: “We are not the new government. We are a continuing government that is bet ter prepared and in the right posi tion to effectively coordinate and deliver on development priorities in the next five years.”

He was speaking on behalf of Prime Minister James Marape and

cused on critical areas of economic growth that will bring development to all of us.”

“The 2019 Loloata outcome con tinues to serve as the blueprint and guideline for targeted sectorial re forms by aligning them with overall development policies and plans,” he said.

Mr. Rosso stated: “We cannot just keep talking about concepts. We already have some good policies in place and what we need is total and equitable commitment and hard work to implement existing policies to achieve industrialization and eco nomic growth for our people.”

“Most of these policy concepts are in line with the recent govern ment restructure, which included the creation of new ministries, which are International Trade and Investment, Livestock, Oil Palm and

Mr. Rosso said: “We are look ing at restructures that can reform and harness the potential of various sectors such as renewable resourc es and non-renewable resources

that have been dormant for the last 46 years. Our people must also be included and empowered to be participants in ensuring economic growth.”

“No one will do this for our peo ple, we must do this for our children and our future. Let us all build Pap ua New Guinea together, this effort will include collaboration from the public and private sector, Business es, farmers, and ordinary citizens throughout the country to play their individual roles,” he explained.

“For many years, the govern ment’s focus has been on non-re newable resources, especially the extractive industry, which can be depleted and only serves 10 per cent of the economy,” Mr. Rosso said.

“The government is now giv ing equal attention to renewable resources, which mainly serve 80 percent of our rural population. In doing so, the rural population can be meaningfully engaged in the agricultural sector to sustain them selves.”

Treasurer Wants Review of Election Funds

By Paul Oeka

Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey is dismayed at how the 2022 National Elections were conducted and is now looking forward to a complete review of the allocated funds that were spent on the elections.

Ling-Stuckey recently stated in parliament that the government had allocated and fund ed enough money for the election process to be carried out this year.

“We provided a further K50 mil lion to cover the costs for the 2022 election, bringing the total funding for the election to nearly double the level of expenditure in the 2017 na tional elections. There was enough money to support a much better election this year, so I look forward to the proposed parliamentary com mittee examinations of what went wrong and what can be done bet ter,” he said.

The Treasurer also expressed concern that there was a decrease in the public servants’ salaries.

He explained that “Once again there is a salary cost overrun. This is K201 million much lower than in pre vious years, and out of this, over 70 percent is related to teacher wage overruns. We contributed to bringing this area under control. After no pay increases during the latest part of the Covid-19 crisis, it is now time to start increasing some salary payments.”

“There is also the need to provide additional funding for the seven new districts that have been cre ated and K3 million each has been provided. There are also new mem bers in existing electorates and it is appropriate that they be given some funds for commencing pro grams through to the end of the year. For equity reasons all districts and provinces needed to benefit the same so an additional 2 million per district and province have been allocated bringing the funding back to 10 million per district and prov ince,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was an an

nouncement on Thursday last week that the Department of personnel management, Treasury, and Finance are working together to ensure that there will be a three percent pay increment in the salary of public servants.

This pay increment is to be adjusted and ef fective by December this year, the welcoming news for public servants was confirmed by the Secretary of the Department of Personnel Management, Taies Sansan.

Real Estate In SME Sector Booms In Moresby South

By Paul Oeka

The long-awaited realization of quality services from the gov ernment has seen a real estate boom mainly from property owners in the Small to Medium Enterprise Sector (SME) in the Moresby South electorate of NCD. A rapid trans formation from the shanty colonial suburbs to a modern-looking elec torate has created an abundance of opportunities for property owners, small businesses, and residents in and around the electorate.

Recently after retaining his seat as current Member for Moresby South and newly appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Events, Hon Justin Tkatchenko high lighted that he was humbled and overwhelmed by the huge support shown by the people of Moresby South and stressed the development aspects of his electorate.

“I am satisfied that Moresby South is setting the standard in many different ways under my leadership

sewerage plant. The hillside area along this back road is now occupied with newly built Modern styled hous es and the area has been largely in demand for land purchases par ticularly because of the magnificent view and also from the lighting at night that overlooks the shoreline from Joyce Bay and continues up

earners, and SMEs

The sale, leasing, and purchasing of land have also become a lucra tive market for landowners both at a large and small scale and businesses that are keen for change and devel opment have been at the forefront of purchasing large portions of land for housing and business purposes. Most Homeowners in the area have also sold or renovated and refur bished their homes into quality hous es and Duplexes with all the conveni ences of a modern home and have ventured into the real estate market as well.

The major factor for this real es tate growth is the competition of rental properties which have in one way relaxed the constraints of dai ly livelihood for the residents of the electorate due to reduced rentals. Many residents have stated that the developments taking place around the surrounding suburbs have trig gered a population increase in the electorate.

and I thank the administrative staff and others who have to ensure that requirements by laws are fulfilled. “This is important in the use of public funds,” Mr. Tkatchenko said.

The development in the elector ate has made way for the creation of businesses with the building of Housing and rental properties along the Motu Koitabu villages of Ma huru, Kilakila, Pari, and around the suburbs of Sabama and Joyce Bay has been quite a remarkable turna round from its original state and has fast become a potential prospect for the real estate industry.

A notable example is a back-hill road that connects from the scratchy road leading towards the Joyce Bay

around to the newly built state of the art Butuka Academy School and stretches across Scratchly road down to Badili.

There is already a hotel in place in the area which has created opportu nities for residents and the growth of the business has prompted property owners into becoming competitive with rental fees directly resulting in the influx of residents from oth er parts of the city which has real ly worked well to the advantage of businesses. The vicinity of shops, markets, and bus stops are all with in walking distance from each other and is much more convenient for res idents which mainly contrasts Pub lic Servants, middle to low-income

A retired Police officer and Longtime resident and Community leader in the Moresby South area, Anthony Aphranick Guken said “In the past, Moresby South was regarded and labeled as a notorious place in the city, but now there is a huge change in infrastructure, roads, markets,

Bizmen: Government needs better regulations to cater to European investment

Panelists at the Third European-PNG Busi ness, Trade, and Investment Conference

on the 10th of October 2022 at Apec Haus Port Moresby, speaking on the topic of “Navigat ing the business environment - the impact of the regulatory framework for business, trade, and investment,” mainly expressed their desire for more improvements to the regulatory framework and regulations in PNG and for these to take place effectively and more ef ficiently.

Mr. Peter Burnie, Partner for Price Waterhouse Coopers, said stakeholder engagement was “difficult” amid the implementation of conflicting laws and priorities to set up business in Papua New Guinea.

The same sentiment was also shared by Mr. Chey Scovel, from the Manufac turers Council of PNG. He emphasized the aspect of delivering policies from the government.

He noted that its target “should be met, and there should be accountability if nothing has been achieved in terms of meeting key policies and its deliver able targets that will create opportuni ties for the country,” adding that, at the moment “this is currently stagnant.”

An example, Mr. Scovel noted, is the inbound calls when calling from Aus tralia to Papua New Guinea. “It is quite expensive compared to other countries, which is cheaper in comparison to Pap ua New Guinea. That is a regulatory problem and needs to be looked at, es pecially with the National Information Communication Technology Authority

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schools, and health services, this is because of the hard work put in by the business com munity and the local member to develop and change the electorate”

Adding significantly to this is the con struction of a state-owned hospital and recreational facility which will consist of a modern Gym, park, and playground. These facilities are all currently in progress with the beautification process slowly taking shape along the footpaths leading to the intended area of construction.

Once a notorious part of the city is now fast becoming a jewel greatly because of the outstanding and tireless efforts of the elected member and the business community in developing and creating a solid profile for the suburbs in this electorate.

(NICTA) and its other regulatory organizations,” he said.

Mr. Collin Stone, the CEO of Digicel PNG Limit ed, said there needs to be a good regulatory sys tem in place in Papua New Guinea that is “stable, equitable, fearful and independent.”

“One of the impeding factors in PNG is engage ment and dialogue between different regulatory

American Chamber of Commerce Coral Sea Hosts Discussions with US Congressman Ed Case

By Miriam Mandibi

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Cor al Sea hosted a roundtable discussion with US Congressman Ed Case of Hawaii on Wednes day 19th of October 2022 at its Port Moresby based Office.

The AmCham was launched earlier this year to promote sustainable economic growth, foreign investment and great er opportunities for US and the Pacific companies including the Coral Sea region that is PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

The discussion comes after a meeting with the Biden Adminis tration last month at the US-Pa cific Island country summit in ways to enhance Partnership and trade.

Key issues highlighted were how to work in collaboration with AmCham Coral Sea Coun try’s and the US especially Ha waii, providing ways to enhance business growth and explore Congress’ role in enhancing Am Cham’s efforts.

In his welcoming remarks, AmCham Coral Sea Vice Presi dent Peter Burnie (PWC Papua New Guinea) shared AmCham’s partnership has having multiple facets that provide innovation, diversity, trust and integrity with Commercial relationship as its centre.

“We recognize the incredible importance of the US govern ment’s involvement in the re

gion and our connection is the differentiator in other business organizations and is our key to success,” he said.

“I deeply appreciated the discussion with AmCham Coral Sea, how we can all seize the moment following President Biden’s and congress landmark meeting with the Pacific Island Leaders in Washington DC last month,” said Congressman Case.

“Our Joint Declaration on

US Pacific Partnership and our whole range of related initi atives throughout the Pacific demonstrates our commitment to working with our partners to increase economic potential and opportunities all towards mutual strengthening of our countries and it’s share values.

“I am really excited at the en hanced role my Hawaii can and wants to play in facilitating this next chapter in the Pacific Cen tury.”

bodies operating individually, and there’s no communication between themselves, there needs to be more consultation between government and pri vate sector,” he added.

Mr. Kamis Yalakun, the Man ager for Investment Promotion Authority, spoke on the roles of

IPA and how they are currently working with the European Union to establish business develop ment within Papua New Guinea.

The last speaker, Mr. Nelson Kapo from PNG Customs Ser vices, gave a brief view of how the regulatory organization op erates in Papua New Guinea. He emphasized that the PNG Customs Services welcome in

vestors in the country to operate in a more flexible role, and said there are areas as a country for them to work in collaboration with stakeholders to welcome effective development.

The theme of the conference is “Strengthening sustainable business, trade and investment ties between the EU, PNG and the Pacific”.

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PM Marape Opens K125.7-Million Kavieng Airport

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the Govern ment is investing in key in frastructure development such as the K125.7 million Kavieng Airport Development.

He said this on Thursday, No vember 3, 2022, when opening the project which he launched in June 2020, built through the Asian Development Bank (AD B)-funded Civil Aviation Devel opment Investment Programme (CADIP) and Government coun terpart funding, in front of a massive crowd in the New Ire land capital.

The project covered pave ment strengthening and 500m runway extension to achieve a total length of 2200m; construc tion of the new terminal building; construction of the new airport market facility; construction of the powerhouse and installation of standby power supply; instal lation of an airfield lighting sys tem; installation of water supply; and a new carpark.

PM Marape thanked ADB for its support of CADIP since 2009 which will continue through CADIP II.

He also announced:

• K10 million for expansion of Kavieng Town and urged local landowners to free up land for this purpose; and

• That a new port would be built in Kavieng through the Australia-PNG partnership.

The Prime Minister and a large delegation from Port Moresby arrived in an Air Niug ini Boeing 737 aircraft to demon strate that Kavieng Airport can now handle international flights.

He was accompanied by Civil Aviation Minister and Namatanai MP Hon. Walter Schnaubelt, Treasurer and Ka vieng MP Hon. Ian Ling-Stuck ey, Finance Minister Hon. Rain bo Paita, ADB Country Director David Hill, management of ma jor airlines Air Niugini and PNG Air, department heads, provin cial administration represent atives, local leaders, and the New Ireland people.

Meantime, across the Bis mark Sea in Manus, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. John Ros so opened the East-West Coast Highway Redevelopment.

“This indicates that the Gov ernment of today is willing to in vest in key economic infrastruc ture to carry the economy of the country forward,” PM Marape said.

“This sort of infrastructure has a return on investment.

“This airport in Kavieng has a return of 16 percent-plus.

“This is the economic-ena bling infrastructure to anchor New Ireland and this part of the country so that you are not just a contributor from Lihir (mine) but can now go the next mile as far as the economy is con cerned.”

PM Marape challenged the people of New Ireland to break away from the status quo and work with Government in devel oping the economy.

“The Government is investing and focusing on going back to agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and sustainable forestry and

wants to work with the provin cial government in this space,” he said.

PM Marape cited the case of the small Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu which had a popu lation of only 300,000 people but attracted 88,000 tourists in 2020.

“If 50,000 tourists come to Kavieng, and each of them spends K1000, that is K50 mil lion for the New Ireland econo my,” he said.

“This is more money than from the Lihir mine.

“In a place like New Ireland, where law and order is not a major issue, we are willing to in vest more.

“I want to talk about opening up Kavieng Town, opening tour ism, agriculture, and fisheries in New Ireland.

“I want to talk about power generation for reliable pow er in this province. I want New Ireland, over the next 10 years, to become a strong economic contributor through not only ag riculture but especially tourism and fisheries.”

EU-PNG Business, Trade, Investment Conference a Success

The third EU-PNG business, trade, and investment Con ference is a demonstration of the European Union’s commitment to strengthen business, trade, and investment ties between PNG, mem ber states of the EU-Pacific Econom ic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

This year’s edition attracted more than 700 participants from both the government and private sector in Europe and Papua New Guinea in cluding participants from other Pa cific island countries.

The conference held from 11-12 October 2022 at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby, was preceded by a European economic diplomacy week and ended with an international press visit to the provinces.

The business conference was highly valued for its practical ap proach including the opening speech by the Minister for International Trade Richard Maru who provided an overview of the PNG strategy to further deepen the Economic Part nership Agreement (EPA).

The presence of Minister Maru and his vice minister Kessy Sawang, who is one of the two women MPs in the National Parliament, showed an unprecedented engagement from the PNG Government and a positive sign for the future sustainability of the event which the European Union will cease to fund after next year’s edition.

The French Ambassador to PNG Guillaume Lemoine, Minister for In ternational Trade Richard Maru, and vice Minister for International Trade Kessy Sawang were guest speakers at the conference.

The European Union is the main importer of PNG agricultural prod ucts with special mention of premium products. In terms of PNG exports in the last 5 years, Europe stands third behind Asia and Oceania.

In addition, the EU has committed more than EUR 100 million to sup port trade-related stakeholders and agriculture in key commodities since 2016 and committed more than EUR 37 million regionally under the Pacif ic Regional and Integration Support (PRISE) Programme.

Finally, the most beneficial Free Trade Agreement for Papua New Guinea is with the European Union namely the EPA signed in 2009. his EPA allows all products from PNG to be duty-free, and quota-free into the EU market including all tuna

processed in PNG even if caught by non-PNG vessels.

In the case of fisheries, the EPA has had a significant impact creating more than 12,000 jobs in PNG, main ly for women, and multiplied by 50 the value of PNG fish exports to the EU to over 200 million US dollars.

European Union’s support has targeted key PNG commodities like cocoa, fisheries, vanilla, coconut, and kava. The EU further supported upskilling of key stakeholders in busi ness, trade, and investment includ ing key PNG departments, agencies, and laboratories.

The two-day conference con ducted in parallel with a Business Fair including PNG SMEs from differ ent provinces provided an opportu nity for participants to increase their networking prospects and likewise gave small and medium enterprises (SMEs) an opportunity not only to display and sell their products but to find a potential market.

The two days discussions and target market analysis presenta tions generated great interest from participants including those who joined online. The level of participa tion showed that the interest was not only growing within PNG but in oth er EPA countries and generally from the Pacific island countries.

The main messages delivered during the conference were: the importance of strengthening trade and investment ties between the EU and PNG through the full utilisation of the Economic Partnership Agree ment, skills development, global val ue chains, regional integration, good governance, social enterprises, and corporate social responsibility and the importance of sound regulatory

framework.

This two-day conference was completed by the European Eco nomic Diplomacy Week supported by European companies in PNG, the business trade and investment tech nical workshop, and the press visit to Kokopo in East New Britain and Buka in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville provided added value to the conference.

The complementary events high lighted the EU’s commitment to sup port the development of EU trade and investment in Papua New Guin ea as well as promote sustainable economic development in the coun try.

The EU is already cosying in coor dination with local authorities on the scope and organisation of the 4th conference to be held in 2023.

PNG EITI Scores Moderate Rating in Validation Results

By Miriam Mandibi

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) International team comprised of the EITI Executive Director Mark Robinson, EITI Director for Asia and the Pacific Mr. Em manuel Bria, and the Country Lead for Papua New Guinea has successfully completed its findings of Papua New Guinea’s second EITI Vali dation (Country Assessment Report) with its formal an nouncement on Friday 11th of November, 2022 at Treasury Office Port Moresby.

The Validation result comes after a month of con sulting with various players consisting of the represent atives from the extractive companies, government de partments, extractive stateowned entities, and civil society bodies to provide leadership and guidance in guiding the implementation of the EITI Best Practice Standard in PNG’s mining and Petroleum sector.

PNGEITI Head of National Secretariat Mr. Lucas Alkan welcomed the EITI Board’s candid assessment and deci sion on PNG’s efforts to im plement the EITI, describing it as a fair assessment, tak ing into account the efforts put in by multi stakeholder Groups over the years since 2013 when the government signed up to implement the EITI.

“We consider the second country assessment as con solidating the correct actions that have been taken and the work currently in progress. PNG has made significant progress in implementing the EITI relative to other econo mies around the world that are implementing the same EITI standards”.

Giving his assessment so

far regarding EITI’s role in Papua New Guinea the Exec utive Director of EITI Inter national, Mr. Mark Robinson stated that PNG needs more transparency in revenue col lection for public informa tion, the room for contract transparency, and lastly for the beneficiaries in the ex tractive sector to benefit well in their resources. An other key success area noted is the well-structured elec tronic data currently availa ble by the Mineral Resource Authority that provides good management of the mineral

resources.

“EITI has to be meaningful to the local people and how it will benefit them socially and economically in a proper way,” Alkan said.

EITI Director for Asia Pa cific Mr. Emmanuel Bria ex plained further that EITI is an independent National Secretariate that works in line to make sure the govern ment’s local content is met along with the extractive sector (oil, gas, and mineral) in a more transparent way to benefit its citizens accord ing to the set international standards and its jurisdic tion.

PNG operationalized EITI implementation in 2015 and published its first report in 2016. Since then, it has so far published seven country reports covering successive financial years. The 2021 and 2020 reports are now being worked on and are expected to be published by December this year.

Minister Maru: Australia Must Focus Partnership with PNG’s Preferences

By Paul Oeka

Minister for International Trade and In vestment Hon. Richard Maru said Aus tralia must refocus and align their priori ties to Papua New Guinea’s preferences.

He was referring to the Papua New Guin ea-Australia Comprehensive Strategic and Eco nomic Partnership, specifically the Pillar 3-Eco nomic Partnership for Prosperity. Minister Maru said this in his meeting with the Australian Minis ter for International Development and the Pacif ic, Hon. Pat Conroy last week.

During the meeting, Minister Maru said that Papua New Guinea (PNG) was now focusing on growing its econ omy through the non-resource sectors and that was where Australia could step in and assist.

“Over the last 47 years, PNG has been over-reliant on the resource sec tor, and look at where that had left us- the highest level of unemployment since independence, the highest level of the national debt, and the highest level of crime. It is a serious policy flaw that this Government is determined to fix during our term; our focus is now on reducing crime and growing the economy,” said Minister Maru.

“We will focus on the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and the services sector. We need to replace all imports like rice, dairy products, coffee, and all other products that we can pro duce ourselves. We need to down stream process all our raw materials and we need to build our manufactur ing sector. We accept the fact that we have a lot of challenges like constant power blackouts and a high cost of energy. These are areas that Australia can easily help us,” he said.

Minister Maru said that Australian investors could also assist PNG in the development of its Special Economic Zones.

“This (development of SEZs) is key to our plan to unlock the potential of our economy, so we want them (Aus tralia) to support us in this area,” said Minister Maru.

“We also want Australia to support us develop new industries like cotton and feed. These are areas that Aus tralia is very good at and has very ma ture industries and they can assist us”.

“So, under this partnership (Papua

New Guinea- Australia Comprehensive Strate gic and Economic Partnership), when Australia is looking at aid flows to PNG, they should fo cus on these sectors which will give us great est impacts in terms of employment and wealth creation; they must not focus on the areas that they define but on our key focus areas that we define,” said Minister Maru.

Meanwhile, Minister Maru also advised Min ister Conroy that he had approved for PNG National Trade Office to work with the Aus tralian Government to engage an independent consultant to undertake a Feasibility Study into a possible Trade Agreement between PNG and Australia.

Blue Water Shipping Announces New North Asia-PNG Liner Service

Blue Water Shipping is proud to announce the Kumul Service - a new regular liner service between North Asia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The service will be an extension to the current Blue Water Shipping liner service through to Li hir, PNG, and will now offer custom ers a further solution into Lae.

Steven Lofaro, Regional Director, Energy, Ports and Projects Oceania, sees a growing demand for cargo capacity, particularly for Breakbulk cargoes, in and out of Papua New Guinea.

The Kumul service, operating with the MV Gala - a multipurpose vessel with a single lift capacity of 150 mt, enables Blue Water Shipping to pro vide a regular and efficient solution that can benefit a wide range of in dustries due to the ability to receive containerised, break-bulk, project and out-of-gauge cargo.

“It is exciting to offer our indus try a regular and reliable service. The solution will help strengthen the supply chain for organisations based in PNG, focusing on optimisa tion through both the importing and exporting of equipment in and out of PNG”.

The maiden voyage will depart from Asia early-December. Moving forward, the service will offer reg ular sailings from China, Korea, and Japan into PNG every 30 days.

For Steven Lofaro, “the service complements the Blue Water Ship ping capabilities within Projects Logistics to ensure efficient cargo flows for our customers.”

“As a full end-to-end provider, we offer additional services, includ ing landside freight, consolidation, piece checking, warehousing, cargo handling, and customs clearance. Globally, Blue Water has more than 70 offices worldwide, and the company provides all logistics services in modern

Exclusively selling at Remington Technol ogy branches nationwide are four brand new printer models from Brother, including a range of Brother Scanners.

Remington Technology, through a long standing partnership with Brother International Pty Ltd, is now offering a range of printers and scanners, including exclusivity on four printer models which are on sale now.

Remington Technology will have the fol lowing brother devices displayed exclusively in their showrooms: the MFC-L9570CDW, the MFC-L6900DW, the HL-L9310CDW, the HLL6400DW and the ADS-3300W.

supply chain management.”

Contact for inquiries and booking: au bookings@bws.net

The addition of these new brother models specialises Remington Technology’s product range and provides more options for their cli ents to choose from, nationwide.

“Brother is one of PNG’s most popular brands in the business systems space, offer ing state-of-the-art printers and multifunction devices, scanners, label makers and so much more. So, I’m excited to announce that we have reached an agreement to bring to the market a range of Brother devices that are absolutely exclusive to Remington Technology,” said Peter Goodwin, Remington Group CEO.

Brother printers and scanners are some of

the most reliable and robust brands in the in dustry, offering excellent quality prints, dura bility, and efficiency.

These entry-level machines feature fast printing speeds, large paper input capacity op tions, and automatic duplex printing and scan ning.

They are sold under a Managed Print Ser vices agreement which offers their customers full after-sales service and support.

Contact our team today on 312 3400 or email: sales@remington.com.pg to find out more about our new Exclusive range of Brother Ma chines.

New Porgera Limited Vital For Mine Reopening

The New Porgera Limited now stands as the guiding platform to ensure proper governance and transparency of the operations of the mine, once reopened, will be unlike before.

New Porgera Limited chairlady Nellie James said the incorporation of New Porgera Limited will be for Porgera Mine as the previous unin corporated venture running of op erations and sale of gold was only privy to the individual shareholders.

Ms. James said the incorporated project company structure allows for a board that is made up of di rectors representing the sharehold ers and the full board will be privy to the operation of the mine and to ensure there is proper governance and transparency of the opera tions.

She said actual mining opera tions will be undertaken by Barrick (Niugini) Ltd, as the operator of the mine, and report to NPL, and shareholders await their dividend payment when profit is declared.

Other mines in PNG also have an incorporated corporate structure that includes Ok Tedi and Lihir, and it is not a new concept.

“Given the circumstances, this arrangement is better, as all of the parties are seated around the table, rules are set out in the operatorship agreement and transparency and accountability is ensured among the parties in respect to the operations of the mine,” Ms. James said.

“Also, we now see an equity structure that is a first for PNG as New Porgera has secured 15 per cent protected equity for project area landowners and the province.

They get to see their bene fits from the moment the mine starts selling gold, while the State, through Kumul Mineral Holdings Limited, awaits the full repayment of the cost incurred during care

and maintenance up to the mine reopening.

“There are other immediate benefits of Porgera Mine reopen ing that will be seen by other PNG stakeholders earlier than KMHL.”

Mark Bristow, Barrick Gold’S Chief Executive, has been in PNG for the inaugural board meeting of New Porgera Limited, the new enti ty created under the New Porgera Shareholders Agreement to reopen and run the Porgera gold mine.

Bristow said the new company will be applying for a Special Mining Lease in the coming weeks “once certain conditions are fulfilled.”

According to a release, Bristow and Barrick executives are also ex pected to meet with Prime Minister James Marape and the State Ne gotiation Team. (Barrick)

Barrick Chief Executive Mark Bristow, in PNG for quarterly op erational reviews, said that the in corporation of New Porgera Limited (NPL) on 22nd September, following the execution of the New Porgera Shareholders Agreement by Bar rick (Niugini) Limited, Kumul Min eral Holdings Limited, and Mineral Resources Enga, marked an impor tant step towards the long delayed restart of the Porgera mine. Once certain conditions are fulfilled, the company intends to apply for a new Special Mining Lease (SML) in the coming weeks.

Bristow said that New Porgera will work with the State and the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) to ensure that the SML application process proceeds without delay and in accordance with the Mining Act and the Porgera Project Com mencement Agreement (PPCA).

“The application and early ap proval of a new SML is the goal that all Porgera stakeholders should be striving for. The mine has sat idly for

far too long – almost two and a half years – depriving landowners and the communities of Porgera of em ployment and other essential benefits that the mine delivered successfully for 30 years,” said Bristow.

Together with Barrick’s execu tives, Bristow arrived last night in PNG and travelled to Porgera to kick-off the security forum along side the Mining Minister Sir Ano Pala, Porgera MP Maso Karipe, SML and LMP landowners, commu nity, women groups, and business leaders.

Also in attendance was Enga Provincial Police Commander and representatives of the Enga Provin cial Government, Porgera District and PNG Defense Force.

“We had a constructive kick-off meeting in Porgera and everyone agreed that law and order is crucial to the restart of Porgera mine and the long term future of Porgera District. The Parties will continue to meet and collaborate on law and order initia tives and their implementation.

All landowners and community leaders acknowledged the urgent need for leadership at the ground level to complement the work be ing done by security forces. There was a call from the landowners for a signing of a Peace Agreement and the need for a Government en dorsed Police Operation to address the current lawlessness in Porgera,” said Bristow.

“As a sign of Barrick’s commit ment to restart, we are building a dedicated team, comprised of a majority of Papua New Guineans, to get the mine up and running so that the people of Porgera can fi nally see the ‘white smoke’ they have been waiting for. To date, Barrick and Zijin have funded USD 391 Million (approximately 1.37 bil lion kina) solely for Care and Main tenance.”

Lole Mining to take ownership of Tolukuma Mine

By Miriam Mandibi

Local mining firm Lole Mining Ltd has paid K20 Million to the Liquidator Pini Account ants and Advisors on Monday, 22nd of October as part of its process in the transfer of owner ship of the Tolukuma gold mine in the Central Province.

Lole Mining Ltd (LML) is now the owner of the Tolukuma Gold Mine. LML Executive Director Howard Lole, Director Larry Andagali, and PNG based Law yer Steven O’Brian with principal liquidator Andrew Pini presented the ML 104 license transfer instru ments on Tuesday 4th of October to Mineral Resources Authority Registry to formalise the process on the tenement holding.

MRA Executive Manager for Regulatory Division Stanley Neki tel and transferee (LML) was pres ent to MRA to enter in the registry to formalize the holder.

Mr. Nekitel explained that the custodian of the tenement who is the liquidator is satisfied and

has informed MRA to capture the name of the transferee as the le gal holder of Tolukuma mine Ten ements.

Mr. Pini said he had given no tice to MRA in writing after the K20 Million was paid on Monday to complete the deal.

LML Managing Director while thanking the liquidator and MRA said many critics have said it was impossible but thanked the guidance of MRA that they have made it this far.

I appreciate the support giv en to me by my supporters and colleagues who have helped me along the way including Mr. Larry Andagali for investing in the es tablishment of Lole Mining.

“I’ve dreamed that one day Papua New Guineans should try their best to have ownership of our resources”.

Present at the MRA office to witness the occasion were Man aging Director of MRA Jerry Gar ry and Larry Andagali who is also Managing Director of Transwon derland Group of Companies, both thanked all parties involved for reviving the Tolukuma Mine.

MOROBE TO REVISIT HIDDEN VALLEY PROJECT AGREEMENT

According to Governor Lu ther Wenge, the Morobe government will review the 2005 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Hidden Valley pro ject with developer Harmony Gold Mining and stakeholders.

According to Wenge, the orig inal agreement from 2005 called for a review once the Hidden Val ley mine had been in operation for three years.

“Many things stipulated in the agreement then have not been im plemented,” he said.

“The last two governments failed to pursue this and to see that the developer complied with the agreement.

“I will start dialogue with the landowners, the Mineral Resourc es Authority (MRA), and Harmony so that the developer can comply where they have failed to,” Wenge said.

The open-pit gold and silver mine in Morobe’s Bulolo area was once a joint venture between

South African miner Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining subsidiary New crest Niugini.

To fully own the mine in the Wau re gion, Harmony ac quired Newcrest Ni ugini’s 50% interest in the joint venture in 2016.

The developer declared attaining commercial levels of production in June 2018.

As the WafiGolpu Joint Venture (WGJV), Harmony and Newcrest also submitted an envi ronmental impact statement (EIS) for the Wafi-Golpu Project to the Conservation and Environment Protection Agency on June 25, 2018. (Cepa).

Governor Wenge declared

that he was in favour of the Spe cial Mining Lease being signed by Wafi-Golpu next month.

“Wafi-Golpu is a priority now, but Harmony is very much aware that we will be revisiting the Hid den Valley agreement,” he said.

Industrial and Mining Expo brings stakeholders together

The recent PNG Industrial and Mining Resource Ex hibition and Conference that was held in Port Moresby recently for two consecutive days had a positive turnout by exhibitors as well as rep resentatives and attendees from different companies and businesses in the industrial and mining sector when they show cased their various products and services to potential buy ers and clients.

More than 55 exhibition booths were set up by Exhibi tioners and participants at the Sir John Guise indoor complex mostly by businesses from the industrial and mining sector to network and showcase their services and product capabil ities.

During the course of the two-day event, there were various speakers from differ ent companies within the in dustrial and mining sector as well as stakeholder organiza tions that presented their com panies’ products, services, de velopments, and what they can provide and offer.

Some notable presentations were from the gold sponsor of the event, Motor Vehicle Insur ance Limited (MVIL), Civil Avi ation Safety Authority of PNG (CASA PNG), Cyber Security PNG Ltd, and Orica Mining Services.

The expo drew interest and

extensive support from key stakeholders in government, and representatives from all business sectors as well as tertiary institu tions who were pursuing courses in fields aligned with some of the exhibitors’ specialties.

The exhibition and confer ence were highlighted as a premier meeting place for in dustry trade and a forum for establishing high-quality cus tomer contacts. There was also a special ‘Buyers Lounge’ for suppliers and purchasing officers to meet and purchase

products and equipment.

Managing Director and Chief Technical Officer of Benchmark Industrial, Micheal Babul expressed his sentiments and held the exhibition and conference in high regard and was appreciative of the event and all its sponsors.

“It has really helped attract customers and clients to rec ognise the value and potential of our company’s products and the services that we provide, in fact we have sold a number of our equipment and products worth more than K100,000 and gained a lot more clients dur ing this expo and we are really appreciative and happy that we attended as exhibitors,” Mr Babul said.

The purpose of the confer ence was to promote, harness and bring together companies in the industrial and mining sector to expose and network their products and services. It was held to bring Financiers, suppliers, logistic and procure ment service providers, and other interested parties to at tend from both the public and private sector.

Kanu Named Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd Managing Director

Kumul Minerals Holdings Lim ited (KMHL) has named Sa rimu Kanu as its new man aging director.

Nellie James, KMHL’s presi dent, made the declaration.

“Under the KMHL constitution, the power to appoint a manag ing director lies with the board,” James explained.

According to James, Van guard International’s independ ent recruiting procedure resulted in Kanu’s hiring, and the board’s choice was based on the panel’s recommendations.

“He is a highly experienced sen ior national mining engineer with professional knowledge in mineral engineering, having held very sen ior management roles in the mining industry,” James said. “I congrat ulate Mr Kanu on his appointment and welcome him on board.”

James also acknowledged Hengene Ivan for acting as MD over the past three months.

Kanu graduated from the Uni versity of Technology in 1992 and has knowledge of the mining in dustry spanning 29 years.

“Mr. Kanu brings to the com pany a wealth of experience from the mining industry. His current role is country manager, PanAust, the developer of the Frieda River gold-copper molybdenum project in West Sepik.

Additionally, he has served in a variety of high managerial positions for mining firms, most notably as vice president of the Ramu-Nickel mine in the Madang, according to James.

“Mr. Kanu as the managing di rector and chief adviser to Kumul Minerals is a game-changer for the company in the highly competitive and challenging mining industry, as he brings high experience and en ergy to the company,” James said.

She continued by saying that the appointment would help the company carry out its responsibil

ities as the nation’s mining compa ny as it worked to increase PNG’s involvement in significant mining projects across the nation.

Newcrest Delivers Two Million Ounces of Gold In Fiscal Year 2022

There were no pandemic-related delays in New crest Mining Limited’s 2 million ounces of gold output in the fiscal year 2022, even though sev eral maintenance and improvement projects were car ried out.

Sandeep Biswas, managing director of Newcrest, stated at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Melbourne that this output was delivered at an All-In Sustaining Cost margin of US$732 per ounce (K2580) and that this was achieved while maintaining a disciplined approach to their financial management, which saw four straight quarters of declining group costs over the course of the previous financial year.

He claimed that by successfully completing their acquisition of the Brucejack mine in western Canada, they were able to achieve value-accretive growth as a key goal.

“Brucejack is one of the world’s highest-grade op erating mines and complements our quality portfolio of large-scale, long-life, and low-cost assets. It also means Newcrest now has exposure to six tier 1 ore bodies globally,” Mr. Biswas said.

He asserted that building a good gold firm requires having genuine, relevant exposure to copper.

“At the end of the 2022 financial year, on a 100 per cent basis, our Group Ore Reserves contain approxi mately 11 million tonnes of copper, with an estimated 25 million tonnes inclusive of our Group Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources,” Mr. Biswas said.

“In addition to having substantial exposure to copper today, it means our exposure is well placed to increase in the future through the conversion of Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves. In the last financial year alone copper actually accounted for 25 percent of Newcrest’s total net revenue, up from 22 percent just one year earlier.

“Our intention is to build on this profile going forward through the building of the Red Chris Block Cave, pur suing the approval of Wafi Golpu and with the potential development of Namosi further down the track.”

OK Tedi Mining Limited plans to extend its oper ation beyond the mine life in 2032.

According to managing direc tor Musje Werror, the Ok Tedi mine still contains roughly 200 million tonnes of resource that will remain in the earth after 2032 and can support mine operations long into the 2040s and even the 2050s.

“We have been in operations now for 38 years and our facili ties are aging, and we are now reinvesting into the business in terms of putting money into our processing facilities, fleeting our mine haul and equipment as well and that is in order to take us to the next 10 years,” Mr. Werror said.

According to him, Ok Tedi won’t close anytime soon since the project will continue for a very long time to come. The diffi

culty is in controlling the environ mental effects and figuring out what to do with the waste rock and tailing.

“The next 10 years we have in the current life of the mine is to look at the current environment solution that can further extend the mine life well beyond 2032,”

Mr. Werror said.

“In terms of reinvesting into the project, partners such as P&O Maritime Logistics are doing the same thing with the fleets that it has and it is now reinvesting to provide the service and support for Ok Tedi life of mine well into the future.”

Oilmin Field Services at 30: Work Seif, Home Seif

For 30 Years, Oilmin Field Ser vices has been part of re mote field projects through out Papua New Guinea. Oilmin has been a key stakeholder and partner in the evolving Oil & Gas Industry since 1992 and contin ues this legacy throughout Papua New Guinea today.

Founded by the late George Leahy and partners, Leahy took full ownership of the Company several years later and launched OM Holdings. George was the son of Dan Leahy, famously known for his exploration expeditions with his brother Mick into the High lands, later documented by Aus tralian writers and filmmakers Bob Connolly and Robyn Anderson in the documentary, First Contact.

Oilmin has grown and expand ed in many ways since its incep tion and continues to diversify its business model.

OILMIN - Earlier Years

In the earlier years of opera tions, Oilmin was directly involved and responsible for the Community Affairs Management within a pro ject. This was possible with a selec tive number of key Field Managers who had experience with these requirements. They possessed a sound understanding of Papua New Guinea and its people.

The Core Business of Oilmin Field Services during the earlier years was Seismic Support Ser vices. Clients at the time consist ed of Chevron, Oil Search, ESSO PNG, Geco Prakla, and Union Tex as, to name a few. Seismic Pro jects ranged from a vast number of services and Oilmin continu ously delivered these services to its clients. Examples of these ser vices included but not limited to –

• Community Affair Manage ment

• Line Preparation

• Labour Hire & Management

• Logistics & Procurement

• Remote Bush Camp Construc tion (Fly Camps)

Known for the ability to deliver projects in the most remote areas of the Country, Oilmin became a respected entity that specialised in lightweight, rapid deployment camps. These camps were portable by air and did not depend on ma chinery to mobilise and construct. They were fabricated from Oilmin’s Head Office, located in Mt Hagen.

Over time, Oilmin Field Ser vices diversified into a variety of industries and services that could be offered to clients for their pro ject requirements. The diversifica tion offered project solutions to clients in terms of Aviation, Ship ping, and Timber Supply.

Oilmin continued to diversify over the years and entered projects that were new to the company but expanded the core business and brought in many more employment opportunities for Papua New Guin eans to be part of an experienced remote field team.

It entered the Rig Pad Con struction sector, and Oilmin man

aged to mobilise a fleet of heavy equipment into the remotest sites to clear and build rig sites for cli ents. The work involved with the rig pad projects is quite amazing and unique. The crews would dis assemble heavy equipment into 4 to 6 different pieces and fly them under helicopters through the re mote jungles before having to re assemble the machines ready for the civil works to commence.

Oilmin has built and delivered over 20 rig pads throughout PNG. The terrain for each location is quite different and the project team adapted to the conditions and requirements for executing these jobs. The locations have been stretched through the prov inces including Hela, Western, and Gulf Provinces.

In 2015, the Company and the Oilmin Family were saddened with the news that it had lost its leader -- George Leahy passed away in his beloved town, Mt Hagen. His leadership in the company would be missed for the years to come. He left the company in the hands of his

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Getting power to the people!

Manau: Petroleum Policy Expected to be Finalised Soon

The Petroleum Sector National Content Policy is anticipated to be finished by the end of this month and presented to the Nation al Executive Council the following month, according to Department of Petroleum and Energy Secretary David Manau.

Manau stated that this strategy will also establish an office to look at the practical elements of assist ing the sector in profiting from na tional content during the Chamber of Mines and Petroleum workshop in Port Moresby.

“If successful, a national content policy intervention may increase national job creation, boost the do mestic private sector businesses, facilitate technology transfer and build a competitive national work force,” he said.

“Main challenge worldwide is that national content goals are of ten unfulfilled and the opportunities are not captured and not tangibly measured.

“National content in the petrole um sector should firstly aim at the landowners who give access for the investor’s licenses to gain ac cess into their regions to operate.

“And the circle spreads to the local level, district, provincial, and the national level,

“Each of the stages also looks at the different magnitude and impact of the project, for example in the early exploration stages in the petro leum sector, you will only focus on the bull’s eye, so your social licensing is you deal with the landowners on the ground, you have access to them, and then you give them some servic es, some businesses.

“At the next level, now if Papua LNG and P’nyang come on in the next 5 years, the national content plan in the petroleum sector should also look at the national level down to the host communities.

“So you look at the national lev el, you are talking Steamships, Cur tain Brothers, however, if they can participate with local level compa ny through a JV arrangement par ticipation, that is even better, the local content policy works for all.”

Manau said that the nation al content requirement will affect upcoming projects in the pipeline, such as:

The PNG LNG already has a na tional content strategy in place that

has been effectively completed and executed, and it may eventually co incide with the national content pol icy. The difficulties for us are that they provide reports on their cor porate image, which we require in order to measure;

• FEED for Papua LNG begins in January 2023; first gas is expected in January 2024;

• Construction on P’nyang will begin in 2026 or 2027 (project se quencing will transfer trained la bour from Papua to P’nyang);

• Pasca offshore Gas Project;

• PDL 10 Stanley Gas; and,

• Future oil/gas projects.

From Page 60

children, who had already been involved in the company and had been working on the remote Oilm in sites throughout the Country. Late George’s vision would live on through the next generation of Le ahy’s to lead Oilmin forward.

OILMIN - NEW GENERATION

The Company focused on the core business, remote field servic es. Oilmin continued to service the Oil & Gas Industry throughout the later years to come and continued to diversify into Camp and Cater ing Services on the remote sites. It continued to excel with Camps and Catering Management Ser vices, delivering services to the highest expectations. This would lead to the company obtaining In ternational Accreditation for Food Safety and Quality.

Its accreditation is still intact today with ongoing regular facil ity audits from an International External Auditor. The Auditors’ comments during the 2020 audit were truly pleasing to the man agement and team -- “The kitchen facility was the cleanest he has seen in all of his years auditing Catering Companies.”

The team continued to invest in its personnel. Training and de velopment have delivered several of its National Employees to being promoted and obtaining Manage ment Positions throughout the Project Sites that Oilmin manages today. These positions include but not limited to:

• Catering Managers

• Camp Managers Crew Man agers

• Community Affairs Managers

• Personnel Managers

• Construction Managers

• Logistics and Procurement Managers

A NEW SEISMIC PROJECT MODEL

Oilmin partnered with Smart Seismic Solutions to offer clients an in-country solution to manage and execute Seismic Surveys. This new model of Seismic Project Management was developed for PNG and the Oil & Gas Companies that operate here.

For the first time in PNG, a PNG-owned company is now op erating a world-class seismic crew on behalf of international explo ration companies. The crew has recently passed 1,000,000 manhours on the project LTI Free.

With vast local and region

al knowledge and as one of the PNG’s leading suppliers of remote field support services, Oilmin aims to be the premier support service provider for major Oil & Gas Pro jects and other industries.

TRUE PNG COMPANY

Oilmin is a TruTru PNG Company -- not just a registered PNG Entity, but a PNG-Owned Company that is and will be permanently in PNG for the good times and the bad.

During the years, Oilmin has faced several situations that put the company through some tough and trying times. These challeng ing times have made the company what it is today. Stronger than ever before, Oilmin will continue to grow and expand into the future.

With a new generation of the Le ahy Family at the helm, Oilmin con tinues to expand and looks forward

to new opportunities and further growth for our people. It is an ex citing time at Oilmin, and the com pany and its staff all look forward to seeing what the years ahead will bring.

Santos announces new purpose, strategy, business organisation

Santos announced on 8 No vember a new Purpose, Strat egy and business organisa tion as the company reaffirmed its commitment to delivering strong shareholder returns and achieving net-zero emissions (scope 1 and 2, equity share) by 2040.

Speaking at the company’s In vestor Briefing Day in Adelaide, Managing Director and Chief Exec utive Officer Kevin Gallagher said Santos’ new Purpose – to provide cleaner energy that is both af fordable and sustainable to help create a better world for everyone – is our future.

“The energy transition journey that we have been on will only ac celerate from here. We are building on our pioneering past to achieve our aim of creating a better world for everyone, through providing cleaner energy,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“The successful execution of our Transform - Build - Grow strategy since 2016 has the company posi tioned for disciplined growth and sustainable shareholder returns. The business is performing well, with strong free cash flow genera tion of US$2.7 billion this year to the end of September.

“But we will continue to evolve to meet the challenges of the transition to cleaner energy and a net-zero future. Today we have unveiled our new strategy of Backfill and sustainDecarbonisation - Clean fuels.

“Energy security is a top priority for countries in our region. Given the strong customer demand for our product now and into the future, we will seek to backfill and sustain our core assets to deliver the crit ical fuels the world needs into the 2040s. But we will also decarbonise these critical fuels, in line with our target of net-zero emissions (scope

1 and 2, equity share) by 2040, and produce clean fuels as customer demand evolves.

“This will provide a low carbon intensity base business that will provide a strong foundation to provide sustainable shareholder returns and fund the energy tran sition.

“To deliver the transition and our new Purpose, we have restruc tured the business into two divisions of Upstream Gas and Liquids and Santos Energy Solutions. In 2017, Santos set up an Energy Solutions team and today’s announcement is the next step in our plans to build our transition business, including our decarbonisation and carbon management services business, on our path to a cleaner energy future.

“We have a strong balance sheet supportive of disciplined growth and a business model to generate strong shareholder returns through the transition.”

Guidance

2022 production guidance is maintained at 103-106 million bar rels of oil equivalent (mmboe) and sustaining capital expenditure guidance is maintained at approx imately US$1.1 billion. Major projects capital expenditure in 2022 is ex pected to be approximately US$1.2 billion, the mid-point of the previous guidance range. 2022 unit produc tion costs are expected to be at the lower end of the US$7.90-8.30/boe guidance range.

Production in 2023 is expected to be in the range of 91-98 mmboe, influenced by the end-of field-life at Bayu-Undan, timing of comple tion of the expected sell-down of a five percent stake in PNG LNG, and lower Western Australia domestic

gas production.

Sustaining capital expenditure in 2023 is expected to be approxi mately US$1.2 billion and major pro jects capital expenditure is expect ed to be approximately US$1.835 billion (including the Barossa, Pikka Phase 1, Papua, and Moomba CCS projects).

Santos announced on 27 Sep tember 2022 it had received a bind ing conditional offer from Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Kumul) to acquire a five percent interest in PNG LNG for an asset value of US$1.4 billion, including a propor tionate share of project finance debt of US$0.3 billion. The offer is conditional on Kumul obtaining the waivers of certain pre-emptive rights by each other PNG LNG pro ject participant under the project operating agreement to allow the transaction to proceed. Completion will be subject to customary condi tions including necessary regulato ry approvals and Kumul securing financing.

Guidance for 2023 provided in this release and the attached In vestor Briefing Day presentation assumes Santos’ existing 42.5 per cent PNG LNG. Guidance would be revised once the expected selldown of the five percent has com pleted.

PNG’s First Offshore Gas Field Forecasted to Boost the Economy

By Marcelle P. Villegas

Before we end the year, let us have a recap of Twinza Oil Limited’s presentation during the 2021 PNG Mining and Petrole um Conference and Exhibition. Al though the report was presented a year ago, (2 December 2021), Twin za’s Executive Chairman, Stephen Quantrill, provided a remarkable forecast and insights on how their Pasca A Development Project will boost the economy of Papua New Guinea.

Twinza Oil Limited is an upstream Oil and Gas company with assets in Papua New Guinea. Their principal asset is the Pasca A liquid-rich gas field offshore Papua New Guinea. According to their company web site, “the Pasca A field develop ment plan has been completed, the petroleum resources certified and the programme necessary to obtain the licenses for full field develop ment is complete.” [1]

“Once the necessary govern ment approvals are received, the Pasca A development is poised to become the first offshore gas field development in Papua New Guin ea.” The company foresees that the development of the gas field will encourage and lead more explo ration of other fields in the Gulf of Papua.

With its main headquarters in Perth, Australia, Twinza is expand ing their presence in Papua New Guinea to support the Pasca A De velopment. The company also has offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Port Moresby and in Singapore.

“Twinza’s executive manage ment team has a proven track re cord in the early identification, de velopment and operation of highly prospective oil and gas projects.”

During his presentation, Mr Quantrill described the Pasca A Development as a “Low Hanging Fruit”. To explain this, he enumer ated the following highlights of the project, namely: investor pedigree, experienced team, GCA Resources Estimate of >120mmboe (or million barrels of oil equivalent per day), simple development, short time to production, and strong economics.

He reported that Pasca A Devel opment will boost the PNG econo my. Moreover, the project delivers long-term investment, provides in crease in government revenue, and supports economic growth. Here

are more key points and numbers about Pasca A Development: ~ 500 million Kina - Annual Tax levies, royalties ~ 5 billion Kina, full development cost

~ +6% increase in government annual revenue

~ Forecast expansion of PNG Economy - more than double PNG’s share of the project revenue ~ 600 million Kina expenditure within PNG during construction

Regarding Pasca A Project’s contribution to PNG’s Economy, Mr Quantrill reported, “Direct PNG revenues from the Pasca A Project are expected to exceed US$2.5bn (Kina 8.7bn) and increase PNG’s real GDP by over Kina 18bn.”

He also discussed the Econom ic Multiplier Effect of the Pasca A Project. “Pasca A Project will have a positive benefit on PNG’s overall economic performance as a result of the flow-on to other industry sectors.” He gave the following key points, such as the “Multiplier effects” of the project is 2x to 3x the direct benefits. The project also entails investment in physical assets (marine facilities) and social assets (education and health). Additional ly, the project will generate employ

ment benefits such as hiring more than 100 full-time workers during development, and/or total PNG op erating workforce of 400 to 500.

For the macro-economic benefits in Papua New Guinea, it forecasts an increase in real GDP by K18.1 bil lion and an increase in real income of K4.6 billion. Aggregations could further enhance State revenues by more than 3x. [2]

Below is Pasca A Project devel opment timeline.

The Pasca A project also sup ports PNG’s energy transition ini tiatives. The company sees this as an excellent opportunity to provide a bridge to electrification to 70%

Marape Invites Japanese Company Sojitz to Invest in PNG LNG

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has invited leading Japanese company Sojitz Corporation into the upstream and downstream processing of lique fied natural gas (LNG) in Papua New Guinea.

He made the invitation to Sojtiz during a meeting with President and CEO, Masayoshi Fijumoto, and his delegation in Tokyo on Tuesday (September 27, 2022) during his one-day visit to attend the state funeral of former prime minister Shinzo Abe and bilateral meeting with current Prime Minister Hon. Fumio Kishida.

PM Marape – who was accom panied by International Trade and Investment Minister Hon. Richard Maru, East Sepik Governor Hon. Allan Bird and PNG Ambassador to Japan H.E. Samuel Abal – said the Government would make land available for Sojitz to come into PNG in a big way.

PM Marape said Sojitz had been wanting to venture into down stream processing of LNG in PNG, as well as go into the upstream sector, and apologised for delays in making this become a reality.

Sojitz Group, which has been in PNG since 1963 when it start ed exporting lumber to Japan, is engaged in a wide range of busi nesses globally, including manu facturing, selling, importing, and exporting a variety of products, in addition to providing services and investing in diversified businesses, both in Japan and overseas.

It is particularly wanting to break into the petro-chemical in

dustry in PNG – for which it al ready has an agreement with Ku mul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL) – to produce ammonia.

“You have been waiting pa tiently for the last six to seven years,” PM Marape told the Sojitz delegation. “Now that I am prime minister, we have no excuses not to progress these business intentions of Sojitz, an established company in Japan which is also involved in business in PNG since 1963.

“I thank Sojitz for its continued presence in PNG since 1963 and we have a special place in our heart for you.”

PM Marape said Minister Maru has been tasked with bringing in investors such as Sojitz into PNG and he would be a “one-stop shop” for all foreign investors.

He asked Sojitz for a fresh ex pression-of-interest which would be fast-tracked by his Government as a matter of urgency.

“This is consistent with the glob al trend into the cleaner energy space,” PM Marape said.

“Going forward, the Govern ment in keen on KPHL getting more gas for the domestic market, at an affordable process.

“Sojitz is welcome to partner in downstream processing of gas.

“If you can give me cheaper petrol and cheaper diesel, and even the ammonia that you want to process, you’re my friend for life.

“Papua New Guinea needs to find solutions to the expensive petrol and diesel we are currently importing.

“It is ironic that we produce oil and gas, however, continue to im port expensive petroleum products PM Marape said there were also opportunities in the upstream for Sojitz to go into.

“KPHL will now have first right to some of the smaller gas pro jects, and Sojitz is most welcome to join,” he said.

“If you want to go into upstream by yourself, you don’t have to partner with KPHL, you can go in on your own as well as in the mid stream and downstream.”

of PNG population by 2030, or a 12-to-15-year bridge to renewable power.

The Pasca A gas condensate field is a carbonate pinnacle reef that was discovered around 50 years ago. However, for almost 30 years, this was dormant with no further technical follow-on work. Then, in 2011, Twinza Oil Limited acquired the field. By 2018 they drilled a new exploration well. “Im provements in drilling efficiency, production technology, and devel opment engineering have trans formed the technical and commer cial viability of the Pasca A gas condensate discovery.” [1]

Hopefully, once government ap

provals are complete, the first off shore gas field development in Pap ua New Guinea will move forward and eventually fulfill their goal of helping the country’s economy.

This year, the 16th Papua New Guinea Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference and Ex hibition will be held on the 5-7th December at Hilton Hotel Sydney. PNG Business News is media part ner of this event.

Reference:

[1] Twinza Oil Limited company website - https://www.twinzaoil. com/

[2] Quantrill, Stephen (2 De cember 2021). “Twinza Oil Limited - Pasca A Project - Gulf of Papua”.

A presentation during the PNG Mining and Petroleum Conference, Port Moresby, and Brisbane

Photos and charts: Credit to Mr Stephen Quantrill, Twinza Oil Lim ited

ExxonMobil Celebrates 100th Year of Operation in PNG

ExxonMobil PNG celebrat ed its 100 years anniversary dinner in Port Moresby on Saturday night (23rd of October 2022) at the APEC Haus and was attended by the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea honourable James Marape and Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil upstream oil and gas Company Peter Clark as its official host, also present were Ministers, Governors, MP, members of business community and senior executives of Exxon Mobil.

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape in his speech congratulat ed ExxonMobil on its 100 years in Papua New Guinea and says the company is welcome to stay on for another 100 years.

PM Marape said he had at tended ExxonMobil’s 100 anni versary and asked the company to be around for PNG’s 100th an niversary, and hopefully by then, ExxonMobil in partnership with Government had contributed to a better-developed PNG.

“Tonight is worth celebrating,” PM Marape said.

“One hundred years is a huge milestone, and not just any ordi nary company but a global Triple A-rated company and global lead er, to have 100 years of unbroken business and service to PNG.

“I am duty-bound to thank you on behalf of all Papua New Guin eans - past, present and future – for choosing PNG as an invest ment destination.”

PM Marape said ExxonMobil had started from humble begin nings in Rabaul in 1922 and had grown with PNG over the last 100 years.

“Your investment in the PNG LNG Project is testament to the fact that PNG, despite many of the headline negativities, remains a vibrant place for consistent presence of businesses,” he said.

“ExxonMobil has shown that PNG is a place to do business and can be a place to do business.

PM Marape said PNG was now moving into an exciting new phase of LNG developments with Papua, P’nyang and others, and goalposts set with investors would remain fixed.

PM Marape also thanked Exx onMobil for employing Papua New Guineans in key positions within the company, making available

spin-off businesses for nationals and landowners, for paying tax es, and for continued foreign di rect investments such as in Papua and Pn’yang.

Peter Clark, Senior President of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas Company in his opening speech reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening and continuing to work in collaboration with their stakeholders in Papua New Guin ea and are energized about the great potential ahead.

Mr. Peter Larden Chairman and Managing Director of ExxonMobil PNG elaborated that Exxon Mobil is continuing with its legacy to put a mark in Papua New Guinea in terms of nation building whether in terms of sports, health, educa tion, business, and infrastructure projects.

Minister for Petroleum and Energy Hon. Kerenga Kua, ExxonMobil PNG chairman and Managing Director Peter Larden, Prime Minister Hon. James Marape and Vice President of Global LNG Marketing and Chairman of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development cut the cake to celebrate 100th years of Operation in PNG. Below shows Peter Clark, Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas Company officially greeting Prime Minister James Marape with a handshake .

Summit Reaffirms Growth in PNG’s Energy Sector

By Paul Oeka

The three-day Papua New Guinea Energy Summit and Exhibition that ended in No vember focused on strengthening coordination roles among stake holders and industry players by promoting government and pri vate sector engagement to im prove and reaffirm the huge po tential of PNG’s Energy Sector.

This was the first time the sum mit was mainly dominated and driven by the Energy division. The summit highlighted the challenges and factors that could determine the right pathway for PNG’s Ener gy sector to align its direction and leadership priorities.

Facilitated by Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited, the summit was regarded as a momentous occa sion to identify key challenges and opportunities for addressing, improving, and accessing the En ergy sector in the country.

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd. Managing Director, Wapu Sonk, stated in his closing remarks that he was quite pleased with the topics and issues discussed and highlighted throughout the sum

mit, mostly in development and in vestment opportunities regarding the energy sector.

“It was always about mining and petroleum, and now it is time to focus more on energy because energy is the future for devel opment in the country,” said Mr. Sonk.

Participants at the summit in cluded heads of departments, de velopment partners, the private sector, institutions, civil society organizations, potential investors, and individuals.

With up to 30 exhibition booths that consisted of different organ izations and stakeholders in the Energy sector, the summit was commended as an exciting expe rience in terms of networking and showcasing their products and services.

Climate change was also a big topic discussed at the sum mit regarding PNG’s vulnerability to climate change ramifications. This was stated by key speakers as being a global concern, but PNG must be aligned with climate change adaptations and mitiga tion while at the same time looking at developing its domestic energy policy.

During the summit, discussions also indicated that investors and service providers were taking proactive steps to venture into areas within the energy sector where the government’s attitude and approach were restricted by policy guidelines.

The sentiments shared by Mr. Sonk during his closing remarks also indicated the lack of govern ment participation.

Mr. Sonk said: “My biggest re gret is that the government must sit in such summits and attend to discussions and take note of how policy should be implemented and where the industry is headed.”

The summit was endorsed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and financially and tech nically supported by KPHL, Exx on Mobil, Santos, Total Energies, MRDC, Twinza, Vodafone, ANZ, High Arctic Energy Services, JX Nippon Oil & Energy, Kina Bank, and Puma Energy.

In closing the summit, Mr. Sonk said: “I hope the next en ergy summit will be much bigger and I each and every one of you who has traveled into the coun try or are residents here for at tending.”

Kua: Energy Sector Can Generate Massive Returns In Revenue

By Paul Oeka

The Energy Sector of Papua New Guinea is just awaiting to be tapped into as it has the ca pacity to generate massive returns in revenue.

Gas projects such as The Papua Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project and P’nyang Gas project are expect ed to bring in huge revenue into the country’s economy when they come into operation.

Not only will PNG be generat ing revenue from these upcoming projects but opportunities such as employment, infrastructure devel opment, skills training, business ven tures and small to medium spin off projects will also arise through this gas projects.

Minister for petroleum and En ergy, Hon. Kerenga Kua has been at the forefront of boosting this gas projects into operation as early as possible without letting the construc tion phase of the projects to be de layed.

In his speech at the 4th PNG En ergy Summit in November, The Min ister stated that PNG is now ready to generate revenue from the energy sector.

He further stated that after the

completion of the construction phase for the Total Energy Papua LNG Gas Project, which is to begin in 2024, the construction phase for the P’nyang Gas project will be scheduled to commence.

Kua said: “Total Energy has al ready announced its Final Invest ment Decision (FID) for the Papua LNG Project which shows that the future of Petroleum and Energy re source development is heading in the right direction”.

Minister Kua also stated that PNG’s exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will almost double when these two projects start LNG ex ports.

“Due to the ongoing demand of gas increasing in the European and Asian Markets, the two projects are set to generate more revenue into the country’s economy with our ex ports expected to double from the current 8.5 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 14 to 15 MTPA,” Minister Kua said

He further stressed that Pap ua LNG is to reach its FID in 2023 and the first LNG export is expected around 2027.

“This will be followed by the FID and construction phase of the P’nyang Gas project by 2023,” he said.

Developers also will allow a per centage of this gas projects for Do mestic Market Obligation (DMO).

“This gas will be used within the country mainly for power generation and other purposes such as Industri al use and LPG,” said Kua.

One of the highlights of the sec ond day of the PNG Energy Summit discussions on the 21st of September was how the energy sector could contribute toward local content and the development of lo cal small to medium enterprises for the future.

Present for the panel of discus sions were Mr. Kori Chan, Managing Director of Total Waste Management Group (TWM); Mr. Francis Kunuma, Cofounder of Nares Engineering Ltd.; Mr. Luke Liria, Corporate Af fairs Executive General Manager, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limit ed; Mr. Peter Koim, Director PNG Gas Projects Coordination Office; and the moderator, Dr. Genevieve Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Kokoda Tract Foundation.

Both Nares Engineering and Total Waste Management Group being 100-percent locally owned compa

nies participating in the LNG project, elaborated more on the services they provided.

TWM is currently the leading total waste management and envi ronmental service provider in PNG, while Nares Engineering provides non-destructive testing (NDT) that includes x-ray, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, dye penetrant, and macro testing methods, as well as statutory inspection services.

Mr. Chan and Mr. Kunuma, in re sponse to a question by Dr. Nelson on the challenges they faced as local companies, asked the government to explore investing in the future of a skilled trained workforce, as to cor relate to international standards and meet the demand in the energy sec tor in terms of skills and development.

Mr. Liria spoke on the current achievement of Kumul Petroleum’s social investment projects in the

country. These include the training of skilled technicians through its Kumul Petroleum Academy, in which Exx onMobil PNG is a major sponsor for on-the-job employment and skills.

The other proposed project is the steel fabrication facility and con struction training academy, which will employ more Papua New Guin eans. Another major project includes support for health and sports; so far K65 million has been spent on cancer facilities in Mendi, Angau, and Port Moresby General Hospital.

Closing off the panel discussions, Mr. Koim spoke of the importance of the government providing an av enue for landowners to participate meaningfully in the energy sector. As the resources are currently non-re newable, both the landowners from the gas project areas and different stakeholders must participate in its development, he said.

NEA to Support Stakeholders Within Energy Industry

By Paul Oeka

The recently established Nation al Energy Authority was one of the major participants of the PNG Energy Summit and Exhibition 2022.

NEA’s Acting Managing Director, Mr. Ronald Maketa said the highlight of the NEA is to support the National Governments Energy Policy and its stakeholders to realize the potential of PNG’s Energy industry.

He stated during his speech that “We want to improve access to this (Energy) sector by having the right regulatory reforms for foreign direct investment by engaging with stake holders to find the right approach for the direction of the Government”

“Investors must have confidence in the government, coordination by the government has been lacking in the energy sector for the last 40 years”. He said.

He added that “Renewable re sources such as Geothermal and hydro energy are becoming huge potentials that is why we are align ing our development policies with the Connect PNG Infrastructure program. We want to open up small power systems in provinces and small centers so independent

power producers and investors can come in”

The government already has an Energy policy in place, the role of the policy is to set the pace for service delivery in the energy sector. The im plementers of this policy will be the Petroleum and Energy ministry and the National Energy Authority, the two are working closely with indus try players and stakeholders to see that the policy is effective and is put ting out desired outcomes, explained Maketa.

Apart from this he further stated that there is a global demand for en ergy so policy has to be allowed to be shifted to consider this changing

dimensions.

Reliability and affordability should be prioritized for key areas such as Renewable resources in the energy sector this may include Solar, Hydro, and Wind and Geothermal energy.

The country is blessed with a lot of rivers and waterfalls to use for this form of Energy, this has huge potential to create opportunities for investment.

Energy for domestic use must also be considered, Oil and gas can be expensive even though we are pro ducing it. We must teach ourselves to use clean energy in order to improve ourselves.

MINISTER INITIATES ELECTRICITY PROGRAMME IN LUFA ELECTORATE

Minister for

Environment, Conservation

and Climate Change and Lufa Open MP Hon Simo Kilepa is determined to connect the Lufa District in Eastern Highlands Province with reliable electricity supply under the PNG Electrification Partnership (PEP) Activity Programme fully funded by the United States of America Aid (US AID).

The first term MP plans to connect his district with reliable electricity supply as it will boost internal generating economic activities and better alleviate poverty in rural areas of concern in his district and Eastern Highlands Province as a whole.

Kilepa said that he held talks with senior executives of the USAID PEP Team concerning the planned offgrid electrification project.

The plan which is environmentally friendly positively reflects the Environment and Conservation

ministerial portfolio he is leading in the Marape-Rosso Cabinet.

After his discussions Kilpea said that his district will prioritise Clean Renewable Energy alternatives which is specifically priotised under Solar Energy and Hydro Electricity respectively.

Kilepa confirmed that this

is a Public Private Partnership Programme where USAID is providing technical support in partnership with district and provincial governments for the purpose of project fundings.

According to the US AID PEP Activity Programme, only about 13% of Papua New Guinea’s total population has reliable access to electricity which is a major developmental obstacle.

The USAID PEP Activity is a developmental initiative to focus on the accessibility of electricity to rural areas which was made possible during the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in Port Moresby when the United States (US), Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, entered into the PNG Electricity Partnership (PEP), which aims to increase PNG’s electricity access to 70 percent by 2030.

ICTSI South Paci c is at the forefront of Papua New Guinea’s expanding global trade.

South Paci c International Container Terminal has redeveloped the Port of Lae to support the country’s ourishing trade and the Province of Morobe’s industrial base. In 2022, SPICT will deploy two state-of-the-art quay cranes–a rst in PNG. The QCs will handle bigger vessels and signi cantly improve terminal productivity with faster and safer movement of cargo, which will bene t PNG’s supply chain.

With ICTSI South Paci c’s long-term commitment towards sustainable development, SPICT is shaping the Port of Lae to be future-ready and geared up for transformative growth.

ICTSI South Pacific Ltd. Porebada Rd., 121, Port Moresby NCD, Papua New Guinea info@spict.com.pg +675 472 8283 www.ictsispl.com

+675 320 0881 www.ictsispl.com

South Pacific International Container Terminal P.O Box 3549, Lae Tidal Basin, Bumbu Road, 411 Lae, Papua New Guinea

Motukea International Terminal Porebada Rd., 121, Port Moresby NCD, Papua New Guinea

+675 7190 0395 / +675 7190 0202 info@mit.com.pg www.ictsispl.com

MRA Launches Solar Power System

The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) will save about 60 percent of its annual energy bills av eraging about K650, 000, with the launching of its new Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar pow er system.

The PV solar power system was launched today at the Mining Haus by the Chairman of the MRA Board, Mr. Ben ny Kimisive and Officer-InCharge (OIC) Nathan Mosusu.

The grid-tie system installed on the roof-top of the Mining Haus has a capacity of 162 Kilo Watt. It will be used as a power source which will operate con currently with the PNG Power Limited (PPL) grid, to supply the building’s power demand of about 250 KW.

The system is designed to operate at optimum with the balance of the building’s pow er demand to be supplied by the PPL utility grid. This will have a great effect on the fi nal electricity bills.

The project has been in stalled in partnership with PNG Power Limited (PPL). It

is part of PPL’s project called the ‘Roof-top solar photovol taic pilot project.

Mr Mosusu while officiat ing at the event, said the pro ject is a demonstration of the MRA’s commitment towards achieving the government’s national strategic develop ment plan of generating 25 percent of electricity from re newable resources by 2030.

He said we had been re lying on fossil fuel for elec tricity and that this was the beginning of a paradigm shift towards doing things smart er using greener technology, and solar energy is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Mosusu said in 2018 alone, PNG imported about 42, 000 barrels of fossil fuel oil, adding that the MRA’s new power source would contribute to the reduction in these statistics.

The OIC said the biggest share of the 42, 000 barrels of oil, would no doubt, be at tributed to the power require ments of the mining industry.

“As the regulator, we at MRA

must set the standards in reduc ing our carbon footprint, so that the industry can hopefully follow suit,” said Mr Mosusu.

Chairman of the MRA Board Benny Kimisive, said that the board had been sup portive of this project since inception adding that this would greatly reduce MRA’s power cost.

He said there were more of such projects in the pipe line and that the board would continue to support the MRA’s management in achieving these projects.

PNG Power Limited CEO Obed Batia said in a statement that the initiative of Roof-top Solar PV project is part of the organisation’s Pacific Renew able Energy Advisory Project, which is supported by the In ternational Finance Corpora tion (IFC).

Mr Batia said under this project, there were 10 organ isations were participating including MRA. He said MRA was the first participant to have successfully installed the system.

Marape: Agriculture Has Huge Economic Potential

By Paul Oeka

The creation of the new min istries by the current gov ernment for both major agri cultural commodities, Coffee and Oil Palm is a huge step forward in achieving the agriculture sectors economic potential.

For the past years the agricul tural sector had not been fully uti lized by consecutive governments as the focus had mostly been cen tered on the extractive industry and Mining & Petroleum sector. This important and vital sector is eventually and currently being recognized as an economic pillar to boost the state coffers.

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape said the allocation and restructure of the four newly cre ated ministries concentrating on Horticulture (Fresh produce), Cof fee, Oil Palm, and Livestock to the agricultural sector is a complete paradigm shift to get agriculture moving again.

The focus of the Marape Gov ernment on ‘Taking Back PNG’ is deeply rooted and aligned with the mechanisms and functions of the agricultural sector as most of the country’s population are situ ated in rural settings and largely depend on subsistence agricul ture to sustain themselves.

Coffee, Cocoa, Oil palm and Fresh produce have been a main stay that this rural population rely on for income for so many years. As far as many Papua new Guine ans can recall and relate, Agricul ture has always been the founda tion and backbone of the country and it can surely drive the econo my forward.

Although the agricultural does not match in monetary turnovers for the country, it is an econom ic foundation and is here to stay. In comparison over monetary benefits with other sectors, Agri culture had not been performing to expectation due to so many underlying issues concerned and faced with the value chain of ag ricultural commodities prompting a decline in agricultural activities over the years.

The Prime Minister said it was no secret that agriculture had de clined since independence in 1975, and the current allocation of the four agricultural ministries was to

revive the sector for it to be a ma jor income generator for PNG. PM Marape said this when explaining the concept and rationale for his allocation of four ministries to the agricultural sector.

This direction by the Marape/ Rosso Government to emphasize more on agriculture will boost ag ricultural activities in and around the country. Mostly the sector had not been given proper recognition for decades and had been lack ing government intervention from past successive governments.

Now with the current Govern ment’s backing, the respective agricultural ministries and its in dustries are expected to flour ish dramatically and are likely to bring more benefits. The new min istries will also empower provinces that currently do not have mining and petroleum resources. This will certainly build stronger local eco nomic activities for future gener ations.

“We want to see import re placement and more exports with in the agriculture sector, which is why we have allocated four sepa rate ministries to agriculture,” PM Marape said.

The recognition of this agricul tural industries will also ease and slowdown rural-urban drift. The number of people migrating from rural areas into towns and cities in search for better opportuni ties have risen in the past couple of years due to inequality in the distribution of wealth and lack of government services. Thus, the governments focus on agriculture will encourage many unemployed

Papua New Guineans living in urban areas to go back to their home Provinces or villages and be self-reliant.

As economic opportunities arise in rural areas from vibrant and innovative policy interven tions within these newly created agricultural ministries, it will at tract many to contribute meaning fully and be productive on their own customary land.

Prime Minister Marape said over the last three years prior to the creation of the new agricul tural ministries, his government has given millions of kina to sup port agriculture through price and freight subsidies and SME support.

“We are now targeting spe cific commodities through the establishment of the four minis tries. Over the next term of gov ernment, we will give specific production targets for Coffee, Oil Palm and all other major agricul tural Commodities” he said.

The government also plans to revive and rehabilitate once thriv ing agricultural hubs in the coun try such as Cattle farming in the Central Province and the Coffee plantations of the Highlands re gion that produced quality organ ic Coffee and grew the fledgling industry pre-independence in the 1960’s.

Now that the agricultural sec tor has been categorized into four industries, there will be room for much improvement in economic ac tivity within the agricultural sector as people will start contributing meaningfully to the economy.

PM Marape: More Than K2 Billion Spent on Importing Food

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape recently stated that Papua New Guinea spends a massive K2 billion-plus on import ing food every year, some of which can be easily grown and produced in the country. He said this when announcing that the two major focuses of his government were internal security and growing the economy.

“More control of the prevailing law-and-order situation will lead to increased business, especially in agriculture, to bring down the country’s huge food import bill,” PM Marape said.

He said it would also lead to more benefits from the mining and petroleum sectors.

“I’m very strong in my push for development of our sustainable natural resources like agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. We want to ramp up production in these sec tors and get more of our people, 80 per cent of whom are involved with land and sea, to migrate from subsistent into the cash economy” PM Marape said.

“My government already has in place price support and freight subsidy mechanisms for agricul ture, and partnerships with major banks and lending agencies for support to our SMEs, to ensure that our citizens are active partici pants in the economy.

“Therein lies the greatest poten tial and my government is putting money where our mouth is.

“Agriculture will be our major export earner going forward and will also replace food imports. At the moment, we are spending more than K2 billion on food imports alone, which is not good enough for a country with massive land which can be used for agriculture” he said.

PM Marape also looks forward

to more benefits to the country from the extractive industries, “We will be working to ensure that Porgera Mine reopens at the earliest. Papua and P’nyang LNG projects are both progressing well and should soon move into Final In vestment Decision (FID), with con struction to run from 2023 to 2032. We also will be working to ensure that Wafi-Golpu, Pasca, Pandora, Frieda River, and various other projects progress” the PM said.

FIVE REASONS TO CHOOSE THE FUJIFILM APEOS SERIES

Fujifilm has made technological advancements to their multi function devices to support their clients accelerate their busi ness. Trading in Papua New Guin ea for nearly a decade, the FX Business Centre is PNG’s only au thorised dealer of genuine Fujifilm products and provide a full range of hardware, consumables and spare parts for all Fujifilm devices, including servicing and technical assistance on all its devices.

In introducing its Fujifilm Apeos series of Multifunctional Devices, this range offers a futuristic ap proach to performance, yet is sim ple and user-friendly for any busi ness in Papua New Guinea, from a large corporate setting to a local SME. Here are Five Top Reasons why any business should choose the Fujifilm Apeos Multifunctional Devices:

DATA SECURITY

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RELIABILITY

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CONVENIENCE

The Fujifilm Apeos Multifunc tional devices are truly your work place solution here in PNG. Keep ing up with technology trends, with Cloud connectivity, users can enjoy the freedom of having to access their data safely and conveniently on various devices (smartphone,

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SUITABILITY

Regardless of business size, FX Business Centre’s range of Fujifilm Apeos Multifunctional devices has a device to suit your business and accelerate your business success.

AFTER-SALES SUPPORT

With its team of specialised technicians and after-sales sup port, local businesses can greatly benefit from, and be closely sup ported by their local dealer, FX Business Centre.

Located along Hubert Murray Highway, MSMEs to large corpo rate and government organisations are encouraged to visit the FX Busi ness Centre showroom and take a step further in developing their businesses with innovative business solutions.

By Paul Oeka

Papua New Guinea’s Education system has suffered from sever al policy shifts, drastic changes in curriculum and under resourcing over the years. The free education policy has succeeded in increasing the number of students attending schools, however quantity outcomes have been prioritized over quality outcomes and has imposed a signif icant strain on teachers accommo dating very large classes.

Consecutive governments have not ensured the availability of suffi cient number of qualified teachers to respond to the increased demand for quality education in schools.

More than 85 percent of Papua New Guinea’s population live in ru ral areas, this includes students right from the southern end of Milne Bay, Central, and Gulf up the Mountains to the Agricultural Heartlands of the Highlands region all the way further to the Northern end of West and East Sepik right across the sea to the New Guinea Islands.

The challenges they face at home often spill over to school. Challenges such as Absenteeism, Travelling dis tance, lack of basic needs and lim ited access to technology. Trying to find solutions to those problems are teachers, principals, and the every day local community.

For instance, Provinces such as Central, Eastern Highlands, East Sepik, Morobe and East New Britain had been some of the top provinces with high achievements in the edu cation sector but that has not been the reality lately as the system is slowly deteriorating.

These provinces are home to some of the oldest National High Schools in PNG which are Sogeri, Ai yura, Passam, Wawin and Kerevat, this schools have produced some of the nation’s best academics and pro fessionals.

Two of Papua New Guinea’s Pre mier Universities the University of Technology (Morobe) and the Uni versity of Goroka are also located in the Heart of two of these Provinces; Graduates from these Universities have gone into leadership positions in the government, the private sec tor, and in civil society. But there are still a lot of challenges that face the education system in these provinces.

The Education system has en countered its fair share of Mishaps; schools in the country have been facing problems in key areas such as infrastructure, insufficient equip ment, overcrowding and limited li braries. Teacher absenteeism is also a main issue in schools throughout the country due to teachers not get ting paid. Teaching and learning in schools were not properly assessed and scrutinized and this system car ried on without direction. A major

Learning vital: Education Department to ‘overview’ key priority areas

shortcoming had been a lack of com munication between schools and the education department of the coun try.

The PM is adamant in changing the education system of the country and setting it in order. In achieving this, he plans to create an effective education board that reports direct ly to the Education Ministry.

The Marape-Rosso government’s goal is to provide quality educa tion for the people and in achiev ing that they aim to improve access to schools and improve equity to schooling throughout the country. Currently there has been an increase in the registering and expanding of new and old schools in all districts and provinces so that schools can be accessible to all able-bodied Papua New Guinean children in towns and in remote areas where schools are inaccessible.

There has already been the in ception of new junior high schools registered in certain provinces and districts to accommodate primary school students to continue to high school. The reason for these Junior High Schools is to eliminate the prob lem of space limitation that a lot of high schools have been facing over the years.

To improve the education stand ard and academic performance of the country, The PM is working close ly with the Education Department to supply materials for infrastructure to upgrade classrooms, teacher’s houses, and other school buildings to improve access to schools; this will also include curriculum materials to improve the quality of education.

The improvement of each provin cial academic performance is also of outmost importance to the Mar

ape- Rosso Government. The current regime plans to establish Provincial Academic Boards in each province to organize and coordinate academ ic programs throughout the country.

The Provincial Academic Boards will be put in place to gather infor mation and analyze examination results of Grades 8s, 10s and 12s to be able to see the performance of schools throughout each province. This will also enable them to monitor if school principals and their teach ers are performing their duties.

During a recent presentation at Wawin National High School, Sec retary for the Department of Educa tion stated that PNG cannot continue to become a consumer only. Kombra said it was important to produce in novators and creators who would put the country on the world map with their brilliant and innovative creations.

“In order to achieve that we must first create concepts in the coun try’s education system that would promote and encourage brilliance in the minds of students and STEM (Sci ence, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education is one way of achieving that” he said.

Kombra added that through STEM the government intended to ensure that students will benefit by improving their learning capacity and produce the next generation of manpower that will be fit to adopt the latest technology innovations to create systems to drive the produc tivity and efficiency of the country’s growing economy.

PNG is currently going through a curriculum reform in which they are abolishing the old system of outcome base curriculum to the standard base curriculum. The Education de

Sky Health and Medical Services Clinic: Setting the Benchmark as a Locally Owned Clinic

By Miriam Mandibi

One hundred percent locally owned Sky Health and Medical Service (SHMS) Clinic is expanding its services to international standards.

It is working with Papua New Guineans business houses and the government health sector to deliver maximum services as it will officially open its 8Mile headquarter Clinic in a few weeks in Port Moresby.

An official tour of the headquarters facility was given by the Acting General Manager of Sky Medical Clinic Doctor Wilson Pakalu with its state-of-the-art equipment and office.

The Themo Fisher 7500 series high-end PCR machine

The Themo Fisher 7500 series high-end PCR machine, Automatic Extraction Workstation, and Quigen Automatic Liquid Handling System are all installed and operational for SHMS.

Sky Health is the only private lab operating such sophisticated systems, which has increased its testing capacity to 5,000 samples per day, and fully automated systems greatly reduce any human error in the process.

This now elevated the SHMSoperated PNGML as the most sophisticated high-end molecular lab in PNG testing COVID-19 for now, and Pakalu said it will go into HPV screening and other molecular diagnostics as well.

Ambulance Services

SHMS has 3 ambulances to boost its Emergency Response

Services -- one sent to Lae, while the other one will join Sky Health’s other fleet for POM operations. They are now being sent for full kitting and branding.

Digital X-Ray Machines

Testing and installation of its Siemens digital X-ray including leading completed to meet NDoH standards. Supply and installation are done by Meddent at the 8 Mile Medical Clinic.

Conference Room

SHMS also has an extensive management and staff meeting room.

Sky Health’s other branch in Port Moresby is located at Konedobu, which mainly specializes in Occupational Health and Safety Check-ups and Pre-Employment Medical Reports for companies.

“An advantage that we have is we as Papua New Guinean clinicians understand better the disease patterns here in Papua New Guinea, and we try our best to provide affordable, reliable, and efficient medical services to our people,” Dr. Pakalu said.

He explained that they are looking to work under a publicprivate partnership for effectively service delivery in the health sector.

Early this year, SHMS assisted the Port Moresby General Hospital laboratory services by processing all their blood tests when their lab machines were down.

“We are trying to do the same thing with NCD PHA,” Pakalu said.

Sky Health Medical Services Ltd has over 42 hard-working staff including 4 doctors. It has a centre in Lae operating as well.

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Truly heart-felt support!

In its commitment to assist the provision of health services in Papua New Guinea Kumul Petroleum has provided K15 million to support cancer services at Angau Memorial Hospital, K1 million for dialysis facilities in Mendi, K10 million for the PMGH Cancer Centre and K50 million to the Port Moresby General Hospital National Heart Centre – opened by HRH Princess Anne in April 2022 and renamed the Kumul Petroleum National Heart Centre.

Level 7, Kina Bank Haus Douglas Street, Port Moresby CBD

Building Better Bridges

Did you know that provincial bridges can be replaced quickly, easily, and economically with innovative Engineered Wood Products produced right here in PNG?

With an installed cost base typically under half that of equivalent concrete or steel, NiuBridge from PNG Forest Products is a comprehensive bridge building system that provides a cost-effective solution for new bridge construction, as well as refurbishment of existing structures for spans up to 30m.

Suitable for installation on a variety of existing substructures including timber, heritage masonry, steel and concrete, NiuBridge is also ideally suited for installation on precast spread footing abutment systems, as well as the conventional piles and abutments. Easy to transport to remote locations and quick to install, NiuBridge comes with a 50 Year Treatment Warranty.

The NiuBridge System includes deck, girders, kerbing, and accessories, and comes with a pre-applied bitumen surface. Produced from PNG plantation pine, little maintenance is required thanks to PNGFP’s unique veneer preservation treatment, ensuring complete protection from termites and rotting.

NiuBridge is manufactured to both AS/NZS 2269 and AS/

NZS 1604 standards and exploits the advantages of natural timber, which is not subject to fatigue failure, unlike other materials such as steel and concrete. Available in single-lane, dual-lane, or custom design, NiuBridge is suitable for a range of load conditions including Austroads T44 and AS 500 Bridge Design.

NiuBridge and its sister product NiuDeck are widely used by local and state governments across Australia and New Zealand and have been system-tested and certified by the University of Technology Sydney, including fullscale destructive testing.

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, lightweight and low carbon emissions footprint compared to other construction materials,” said Mick Stephens, the CEO of Timber Queensland.

For more information on NiuBridge contact the PNGFP team at 323 5995, email bridgesales@pngfp.com or download product brochures from www.pngfp.com.

partment is effectively implement ing these systems for Teachers and Administrators to have stability and support to deliver better education to the growing number of children attending schools throughout the country.

The government wants students

to be competent at all levels in the future and this can only be achieved by transforming education through innovation and unity.

Also, in a separate press state ment Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra, called on participants attending the recent 31st Senior Ed ucation Officers Conference in Ka vieng, New Ireland Province to re

visit and restrategise on Government priorities on Education in the country.

“When giving an overview of key priorities aimed at addressing equity there are two important and critical goals that need attention, this are to ensure that every child receives 13 years of education, and that education must come with quality.”

WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

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As the OEM, Solar Turbines understands the criticality of downtime which makes us the best choice to service, overhaul and upgrade your Solar ® gas turbine compressor set, generator set, electric motor compressor set and control systems.

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UK ENVOY SEES HUGE POTENTIAL IN AGRICULTURE

The British Government, as a significant partner, wants to help Papua New Guinea access its natural resources, es pecially agriculture, according to British High Commissioner Keith Scott. He visited Goroka to see coffee production along with Dr. Ruth Wiseman, director of Ocean ia, South-East Asia, and Pacific di rectorate for the United Kingdom.

“Prime Minister James Marape made it very clear that agriculture is a major employer in PNG,” he said.

“We have seen in agriculture, whether coffee or palm oil or huge natural resources that can be ex ploited, waiting to be developed in PNG. What we can do as partners to help the Government develop its richness?”

He applauded the government for establishing separate minis tries for coffee, oil palm, and other commodities, as this showed “its determination to harness the im mense natural resources and agri culture potential.”

In Goroka, Wiseman saw coffee gardens, plantations, and manu facturers. She said that they were also attempting to understand the difficulties the coffee sector was facing and how the UK might help to support producers.

“There is a real opportunity for PNG coffee to be sold in the UK and other parts of Europe,” she said. “We must work on finding a sustainable way to assist in coffee production.

“We have to find steps to im prove the process involved in the coffee production with increased quantity with quality.”

Trukai to Work with University of Technology to assist local farmers

By Miriam Mandibi

Trukai Industries Limited has ventured into a partnership with the University of Tech nology to train local farmers under its Smart Farmer Program at the University of Technology Taraka campus in Lae on Wednesday 12th October.

The partnership was formally announced with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.

This five-year agreement is a private-public partnership for the promotion of academic and profes sional collaboration of rice research and training through the advance ment of science and technology at the university.

Trukai Industries Chief Executive Officer Alan Preston said this part nership demonstrates the compa ny’s support for local rice farmers through Trukai’s Smart Farmer Pro gram and is its contribution towards rice development in PNG.

Trukai Industries Rice Devel opment Manager Aina Davis said this training will be more practi cal-based and will be for a period of two weeks.

Through this program, the com pany aims to enable local rice farm ers to become smallholder farmers and then transition into semi-com mercial and commercial farmers.

Registration will open for the Cer tificate in Irrigation Rice Farming lat er this year. The Trukai Smart Farmer program will see 300 farmers certi fied in its pilot training in 2023.

Davis said the Trukai Smart Farmer Program will touch on the basics of irrigation rice farming and will be for farmers of all levels, from elementary to commercial-based farmers.

The collaboration with the Uni versity’s Agriculture Department will enable farmers to share and access classrooms, research lab oratories, and farm or field facili ties for farmer training, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate student training, research and de

velopment, and extension activities.

Professor Macquin Maino, Head of the Agriculture Department, stated that the department and university are pleased to collab orate with Trukai in this five-year agreement.

He said this MOA is beneficial for students from the department as well, as part of the agreement will have students engage in work-in tegrated learning experiences with Trukai and learn hands-on skills from professionals in the field.

Prof. Maino added that as part of the agreement, the University will provide eight hectares of land at the University Farm for the purpose of rice development projects and train ing on rice farming systems.

Vice Chancellor and Associ ate Professor Dr. Ora Renagi said Trukai Industries is a long-time part ner and supporter of the University and the Agriculture department for over 20 years. This partnership fur ther strengthens the professional relationship between the two or ganizations, she added.

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Quality Cocoa on The Rise In Chimbu Province

By Paul Oeka

Large scale Cocoa farming is not something that is familiar in the highlands region of Papua New Guinea but the Chimbu Province in the highlands region is breaking barriers by engaging in large scale Cocoa farming for commercial pur poses.

For many this may sound peculiar because we have never heard of Cocoa being farmed in large scale for commercial purpose in Chimbu or any other parts of the highlands region for that matter. This is be cause cocoa and other crops that are grown in the coastal region do not adapt and grow well and yield in the highlands which is due to the cold weather and climate.

But that has changed, thanks to climate change where there are more than a million cocoa trees growing in the Chimbu Province and cocoa farmers in the province are aiming to grow a million more cocoa trees by mid-2023.

In Karamui alone there are more than 200,000 mature cocoa trees that are growing, making good mon ey for the farmers in the area. There is a steadily increasing 30-hectare cocoa plantation known as Sorita cocoa plantation located in Karamui, Salt Nomane District in the Chimbu Province. From these 30 hectares they have already harvested and sold cocoa beans to the international market.

Sorita Cocoa farm is the largest cocoa plantation in the highlands re gion and is owned by Norman Mon do, who has more than 20 hectares of cocoa plantation in Karamui and has a Cocoa Exporting licence.

Cocoa board Chief Executive Officer Boto Gaupu presented a Co coa export licence to Karamui cocoa farmer Norman Mondo a couple of years ago.

Mr Mondo is slowly expanding his cocoa plantation to meet the world demand. Mostly he employs the local villagers in the Karamui area to work in his plantation.

Karamui cocoa came second in

PNG Cocoa of Excellency show in Lae, Morobe Province in 2019 and also came in at 50th place amongst 375 countries who competed for the world Cocoa Excellency show in France last year.

World Cocoa analysts have la belled the Cocoa beans from the Chimbu province to be some of the biggest Cocoa beans internationally as the cocoa beans that have been produced in the province are sam pled to be quite huge.

While the cocoa farm in Karamui is expanding every day, the people of the neighbouring Gumine Dis trict have also planted more than 200,000 cocoa trees and are contin uing to plant this year to reach the one million mark.

The Gumine Cocoa farmers were supported by their former local MP Nick Kuman, who had urged his people to seriously look at cocoa as an alternate cash crop apart from coffee. He stressed that cocoa has the potential to produce high yield and good returns in income to the farmers.

been the main income generation avenues for his people and prov ince. While coffee farmers’ income in Eastern Highlands have fallen in recent years, coffee industry sales in the country has been increasing; this is one of the main reasons why Governor Numu wants to make the coffee trade fairer in order to keep money in the pockets of his local farmers.

Trukai Industries Ltd Certified for Standard Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems

prompting, other coffee buyers and

Trukai Industries Limited has recently been recertified for meeting a global standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems under the ISO 54001:2018 standard.

Most organic coffee producers in Eastern Highlands Province are subsistence farmers that live in re mote areas, which is why exporta tion of quality organic coffee is a market which Rumbia Coffee is ad amant to explore. But at times. most organic coffee produce have not made it to buyers in Goroka town due to road conditions.

General Manager Mr.

the coming year

Trukai Industries CEO Alan Preston says Trukai is committed to maintaining the highest safety standards with an aim of achieving zero harm in its everyday operations.

“At Trukai we pride ourselves in ensuring safety as our number one priority every day for the employees, contractors, and stakeholders to do their job on the Trukai site safely and go home to their families at the end of the day,” he said.

Since the establishment of Rum bia Coffee in 2019, Governor Numu has subsidized airfreight to these remote areas in order for them to sell their coffee as well as fresh produce. Rumbia Coffee buys their coffee at a higher price; previously, parchment coffee was bought at a price of K2.50 per kilogram, but since Rumbia coffee’s inception, they have started buying at K4.50 per kilogram, which was eventually increased to the current price of K7

Mr. Preston added that achieving the highest safety standards also provides the highest standard of products for the people of Papua New Guinea.

This year, Trukai Industries was due for recertification after being

es of exporting to India and the Philippines as well. Our main ob jective is to help our hardworking coffee farmers in remote locations throughout EHP where it has very good quality organic coffee and are willing to export quality green beans to the overseas market”.

certified in 2019 and was audited in August this year. The rice company had once again met international safety standards and received approval for the updated safety standards under ISO 54001:2018.

The purpose of the audit was to determine the safety management system the capability and effectiveness of the management system and meet the set criteria

Rumbia Coffee also aims to re habilitate coffee plantations in the province as they are accessing more markets for large-scale cof

Rumbia Coffee exports have the support of the Governor, the Prime Minister, and all stakeholders such as the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and Coffee Industry Corporation to manage and oper ate these plantations.

of these standards. The audit was also set so that there was continued compliance with its customers’ statutory and regulatory requirements.

The processing and roasting of or ganic coffee will eventually be done in the province of production rather than in other countries. The result will be the export of high-quality finished product straight to the buyers in oth

The audit is conducted annually to ensure continual compliance and adherence to the set criteria of ISO 54001: 2018 and to prepare for the recertification audit, which is conducted every three years.

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fee export. The former plantations owned and managed by expatri ates were returned to customary landowners during the 1970s and

Rumbia’s

Baragu said: “In

we plan to successfully operate these plantations to produce premi um quality coffee, as there is an in ternational market that sought-af ter PNG coffee but currently the quantity of supply that is exported

(Photo left) Rumbia Coffee Exports Launching, Goroka National Park. (Photo right) Roasted coffee beans from Rumbia Coffee.

Grand Papua Hotel, Port Moresby Wins

– Luxury Boutique Hotel – Regional Winner in Australasia

The Grand Papua Hotel in Port Moresby is a proud winner of The Luxury Hotel Awards 2022.

The Luxury Hotel Awards rec ognizes and celebrates the hotel industry worldwide, with votes cast by travellers, guests, and in dustry players. It is the third year the Grand Papua Hotel has en tered the Luxury Hotel Awards and we are proud to have been awarded the following:

• Grand Papua Hotel - Luxury Boutique Hotel – Regional Winner in Australasia

“It is another prestigious mile stone for the Grand Papua Hotel again this year to be recognized as a world-class Upscale Bou tique Hotel providing a high-end product and services in Papua New Guinea”. Says Peter Laigaard Jensen – Group General Manager of Coral Sea Hotels.

Grand Papua Hotel – A Member of Radisson Individuals is situated in Port Moresby’s Central Busi ness District and offers 161 upscale guest rooms, suites, and residenc es. The Hotel was built in 2011 and continues to provide a high stand ard in its products and services for business travellers and corporate guests who want an upscale hotel experience with friendly service. And not least the newly opened roof garden concept on the 15th floor Under the Shade.

Peter Laigaard Jensen explains: “We continue to take pride in giv ing our guests reasons for coming back not only to Grand Papua Ho tel but also to Papua New Guinea and to Port Moresby – this award is dedicated to all our employees and guests”

The Grand Papua Hotel boasts an upscale setting and guest ex perience with the Grand Brasserie, 15th Floor Under the Shade, Grand Bar, and Grand Café, Grand Spa, and the Executive Lounge located on the 15th Floor. The latest is the

The former MP had given out K2 million in Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) funds for the Gumine district and wants farmers in this area to uti lise these funds to tap into the culti vating and farming of Cocoa.

In relation, Field service quality assurance manager of the Cocoa Board of PNG Mr Nathan Wartovo

said cocoa normally grows in the coastal areas but today it is growing well in the highlands region because of climate change.

“Karamui in Chimbu province has been the leader in the highlands re gion in cocoa farming but now we also have farmers in Eastern High lands, Jiwaka and Western High lands farming cocoa”. Wartovo said.

He said farmers in these areas

newly renovated meeting and con ference space in the Grand Papua Hotel.

Group General Manager, Cor al Sea Hotels Peter Laigaard Jensen expresses his gratitude during some hectic years: All staff and management in Grand Papua Hotel have during some difficult years gone the extra mile to look after our guests and their wellbeing and I am very pleased we are awarded as a best-inclass property.”

were brought in by the Cocoa Board to display their cocoa at the High lands Cocoa show hosted earlier this year in Kundiawa, Chimbu Province.

It is already becoming a reality that Chimbu Province has become the first province in the highlands region to farm and produce high quality cocoa and is competitive in the country and on the international market against other cocoa beans.

An open ocean swim be tween England and France is the latest fund raising activity being planned for Cheshire Disability Services, the leading charity for people living with disabilities in PNG. The swim is being supported by the Steam ships Group, with 100 percent of all sponsorship money going to wards initiatives that will direct ly benefit people with disabilities and the families who support them.

The English Channel Swim at tracts endurance athletes from many different nations. Zimba bwean born, South African citi zen and permanent PNG resident, Neil Papenfus, a General Manag er in Steamships’ Logistics Divi sion, is attempting the world-fa mous swim for the first time.

English Channel Swim for Cheshire Disability Services

Papenfus and Steamships raised K10,000 for Cheshire Dis ability Services a year ago when Papenfus completed a 13 km swim in Port Moresby’s Fairfax Harbour. Inspired to push him self further physically and raise considerably more money for the charity he describes as “provid ing life changing and even life saving services to some of the most disadvantaged people in our community”, Papenfus has officially registered to swim the English Channel in October 2023.

Cheshire Disability Services General Manager Benard Ayioko stresses that “people living with disabilities in PNG are particularly disadvantaged. There are minimal resources and services to support them and their families. Stigma and traditional beliefs also often prevent families from seeking out what few services are available. Additionally, remoteness and the lack of adequate transport pose significant barriers to accessing desperately needed help.”

Cheshire Disability Services rely overwhelmingly on fundrais ing initiatives, private donations, and partnerships with a range of different organisations to develop and deliver their services. “With

out the support and generos ity of businesses like Steam ships it is impossible to do the work we do” confirms Ayioko. “We hope that lots of other businesses sponsor Neil’s Eng lish Channel swim too.”

Papenfus expects the swim to take him around 16 hours. The shortest route to swim across the English Channel is 34 km long, but this can change significantly with the current, as well as the rise and fall of tides. Swimmers often end up swimming from 4045 kms in an ‘S’ shape and at times against the current.

“It’s not the distance, or even how long it’s going to take to do the swim that wor ries me” says Papenfus “but the water temperature.” An understandable concern given that most of his training takes place in and around Fairfax harbour where the average October water temperature is 26*C compared to the English Channel’s – literally bone-chill ing – 16*C.

There are other factors to worry about when swimming the Channel which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in

the world. On average, 600 tankers and 200 ferries pass through the channel every day. Jellyfish are also notorious pests to Channel swimmers.

Icy water, marine traffic, and jellyfish aside, knowing what good work Cheshire Disability Services can do for some of PNG’s most disad vantaged with K100,000 will provide Papenfus with plenty of motivation during his swim, as well as his next 12 months of training.

To learn more about the Eng lish Channel Swim fundraiser and to donate please contact Neil Papenfus via traineeac countant@pacifictowingma rineservices.com. Steamships will ensure that 100 percent of all money raised will be given to Cheshire Disability Services.

Cheshire Disability Servic es is a well-known, credible, and registered charitable or ganisation for persons with disabilities. Founded in 1965, Cheshire provides a range of important services that help people with disabilities enjoy their human rights and be come full and active members of society.

Local Entrepreneur Develops Rideshare App for PNG

Port Moresby based Security Services Company DEXSS Limited has recently launched a new rideshare service incorporating a smartphone application that is set to change the way people move around Papua New Guinea.

The app called “DEXSS PNG” assimilates a fleet of vehicle owner drivers who can use their personal vehicles to taxi people around their local area via the system.

Managing Director of DEXSS Limited and Small Business Owner, Jonathan Ilau recently launched the new technology into Papua New Guinea.

Mr. Ilau believes the new rideshare app “DEXSS PNG” app will add significant benefits to the community.

“The rideshare service will create hundreds of income opportunities for regular PNG people who want to make money, all you need is a reliable car, smartphone and a good service

attitude,” said Mr. Ilau.

“People are very excited at the prospect of a secure, reliable transport system to move around that can be followed live via GPS.”

There have been a lot of Car owners who have already been registering their interests in working as Drivers in their local

area and have sent through their information and vehicle details to be registered.

The DEXSS PNG Application is available on both apple and android phones and utilizes GPS tracking technology and thousands of registered addresses across the country to enable people to arrive safely at their destination.

Mr. Ilau stated: “The app itself is not just about profit, it is a part of our vision for this great nation, for us to prosper in business and life we need to work together and ensure security, safety and accountability in all we do.”

“We have been approached by many PNG businesses who want to setup an account and use this system as a cashless way of taking their employees to work locations,” said Mr. Ilau.

The DEXSS PNG Rideshare service has already begun in Port Moresby will soon be rolled out to the rest of the country in the coming months.

Regulators of Exploration and Mining in Papua New Guinea.

Managers of Minerals Resources.

Website: www.mra.gov.pg Email: info@mra.gov.pg

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Zavath Seafoods Limited makes history in its industry

Zavath Seafood Limited, a subsidiary of Zavath Holdings Limited, made history on the 13th of October as it became the first locally owned company in Papua New Guinea to export its first seafood product, crab, to the Singapore Market on 14 October.

Present to announce its operations to the media and the country at its operating office in Taurama was Mr. Alphonse Wong Parpa, the founder and managing director of Zavath Seafood Limited.

Mr. Parpa said he had the idea of selling seafood products after seeing local Papua New Guineans struggling to sell their seafood, which usually takes them a whole length of time to sell in the market. He wanted to create an avenue where all seafood products could be purchased efficiently.

“I want to sell premium quality seafood for the world, and it will be starting with crabs for now.”

He further explained that the name Zavath was derived from

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the Hebrew word meaning “the promised land” and that Papua New Guinea “has a lot to offer.”

The company has established a modern state-of-the-art seafood facility at Taurama Valley, Port Moresby, and is recognized by the national government as a model for setting “One Stop Shop for Seafood Trading Centre” in Papua New Guinea to supply the world with premium seafood products.

In March, the National Fisheries Authority signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Zavath Seafoods Limited to distribute seafood in Singapore alongside its Singapore company One Solomon Pte. Ltd., which will store, repackage, and sell the Seafood to the Asian markets once they arrive from the Taurama Seafood facility in Port Moresby.

In September during Independence Eve, Zavath Seafoods Limited was able to secure an order of over 500 kg of mud crab on the first seafood show in Singapore. The company now will have a first

test trial of the market, and later will be able to involve local Papua and Guineans in the sale of crab per kilo once the price has been determined.

So far the company has been harvesting crabs at their local farm in Gavuone in the Central Province and has plans to include other maritime provinces once the company expands.

An official date is yet to be set for the opening of the facility, which the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea has been formally invited to launch it.

occurred last year. Everyone in PNG needs to understand the consequences of a single new HIV infection. A person born with, or newly infected with HIV requires lifelong access to services and lifesaving treatments. We are working to prevent any new HIV infections, and we need to update people’s knowledge about prevention, testing and treatment of HIV.

B4H is collaborating with our friends in Key Population Advocacy Consortium because to end HIV in PNG we need to include everyone, everywhere. We need to understand barriers to access to HIV and TB services by the diverse range of people in workplaces.

Experience in our previous project – the Business Coalition against HIV and AIDS (BAHA), tells us workplaces in PNG do provide the leadership required to make sure a more people are included in their HIV and TB programs. Living with HIV, diverse sexuality, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis are highly stigmatised issues. Each of them requires everyone from business leaders, their customers and the most vulnerable to be feel included in their HIV and TB workplace programs.

Together Businesses for Health and our partners at the Key Population Advocacy Consortium (KPAC), the workshop will strengthen the HIV response in private sector workplaces and address complex issues related to inclusion, stigma, and sex.

Ending stigma for people most affected by HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections, is more likely when workplaces plan carefully about who to include in their HIV response teams – we need everyone, men, women and sexuality diverse people in workplace programs.

We are grateful for the work of our small team and the support from KPAC, UNAIDS, and the Global Fund against HIV, TB, and malaria’s COVID response mechanism in delivering this workshop,” says Dr Ann Clarke.

Businesses for Health: TB & HIV is also maintaining the tradition to commemorate World AIDS Day on Thursday 1 December by wearing RED to work.

“At the workshop and on December 1, we will wear RED to show support for people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses” reminds Ms Tapora.

Fees from this event support the on-going employment of the B4H team in PNG. Our current subscribers attended free of charge.

PNG’s Leading Business & Logistics Park

Papua New Guinea is not known for its ease of doing business, especially for new market entrants. However, the PNG Business and Logistics Park, strategically located in the growth corridor between the Port Moresby CBD and the expanding LNG plant, is helping mitigate this.

Central to the attractiveness of the 94-hectare development, is its privately owned port and container terminal, complete with 540 metres of wharf and a full suite of on-site logistics services and infrastructure.

Tenants, including oil and gas majors, as well as diverse operators in their supply chains, enjoy purpose-built facilities and even on-site accommodation.

The PNG Business and Logistics Park is privately owned and operated by Avenell Engineering Systems (AES), a local company employing 450 staff (95 percent local content).

AES has nearly 70 years of experience delivering large-scale engineering, civil, and construction projects throughout PNG.

AES Principal, Dom Avenell, emphasises that there are several important drawcards to the business park but that its large, modern, and well-equipped port with more than 500 metres of berth is absolutely key.

“Many of our tenants have a port requirement, and we are the only industrial park in the country that has its own port. We not only provide the full range of services you’d normally associate with a port and container

terminal, but we’re also a project cargo specialist providing shore base logistics and staging.”

Avenell says that another key drawcard for the business park is AES’ proven capacity to provide tenants with just about any kind of facility, no matter how large or complex. “Not only do we have the in-house expertise to do this, but we also have an enormous amount of space, ideal for when tenants need to scale up their operations.”

Examples of facilities AES has provided its tenants with, include dangerous goods storage, specialised workshops, cement silos and truck loading facilities, petroleum storage and bunkers.

“What really sets us apart, other than the fact we have our own port” says Avenell “is that we don’t just provide tenants with ‘bare’ buildings but all of the additional and necessary infrastructure specific to their industry and operational requirements. This ‘complete package offering’ is highly valued and goes a long way towards improving the ease of doing business in PNG.”

Another feature of the PNG Business and Logistics Park that appeals to tenants, especially those in the safety vigilant resource and energy sectors, are its safety systems and credentials.

Avenell confirms that the business park meets PNG as well as international safety standards and that it complies with tenants’ industry-specific safety requirements. Furthermore, AES

is ISO certified (i.e., 45001 OH&S Management; 14001 Environmental Management; 9001 Quality Management.) In addition to these certifications, the business park’s restaurant and mess facilities that support its 300-person camp, are HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) certified.

Residents that choose to live in the park’s leafy and secure housing estate (45 x 1-to-3-bedroom homes) are also able to enjoy these facilities, as well as a range of recreational facilities and private medical clinic.

While Avenell is quick to point out tenant benefits, he is equally keen to emphasise the ways in which the business and logistics park benefits his home country.

“In addition to the hundreds of PNG staff that we train and employ, are the thousands that our tenants collectively train and employ; and as the park fills up, these numbers will only increase. Furthermore, by making it easier for new operators, especially international operators, to launch or expand their businesses in PNG we’re playing an important role in attracting new investment and helping generate considerable tax revenue, all of which contributes to an improved economy and in turn, PNG’s development.”

To learn more about the PNG Business and Logistics Park, including its private port, infrastructure, purpose-built facilities, and accommodation: email inquiries to pom@aespng.com.

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Budget Car 95

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Coral Sea Hotel (Grand Papua) 87

Credit Corp. 56

Crossroads Hotel IFC

Crown Hotel 90-91

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National Energy Authority 54-55

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Pacific Energy Aviation 21

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PNG Business News 97

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PNG Mining & Petroleum Hosp. 2, 29

QED 5

Remington Technology 16

Resources & Investment Fin. Ltd 43

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Trans Niugini Tours 24

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UMW Niugini IBC Westpac 1 Zavath Seafoods 81

HIV Workshop on World AIDS Day

This World AIDS Day 2022, the team from Businesses for Health: TB & HIV (B4H) in partnership Key Population Advocacy Consortium ran a two-day HIV update workshop on November 22 and 23 for workplace representatives.

“The Global Pandemic has resulted in setbacks for HIV and TB programs. World AIDS Day remains as relevant in PNG this year, as it’s always been. At Businesses for Health, we need to re-engage with people, businesses, and the government. We need to remind everyone that HIV has not gone away. UNAIDS estimated there were over 3000 people newly infected with HIV in PNG in 2021”, explains Lorrie Tapora, the HIV workshop coordinator from Businesses for Health.

“Worldwide, faltering progress towards ending HIV meant that approximately 1.5 million new HIV infections

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By Dr. Ann M. Clarke

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