Pacific Lime and Cement Ltd. has adopted a master plan for a 300-hectare township at Kido/Rearea, near Port Moresby, with a proposed development of 2,330 residential lots and approximately 2,660 apartments, potentially accommodating about 5,000 homes over a 30-year period.
The Rearea Coastal Estate is designed to provide housing for workers and families associated with the planned Kido/Rearea Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will host the company's Central Lime and Central Cement projects, a multi-berth port and other industrial activities.
The development is about 20 kilometers from Port Moresby and is intended to address demand for serviced, titled residential land near the emerging industrial precinct. Pacific Lime said the wider SEZ is expected to support more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, providing a potential workforce and residential market for the estate.
The first development stage will cover 30 hectares and comprise 310 lots, to be released in three sub-stages of approximately 10 hectares each. Sales for Stage 1A are targeted to begin in the second half of 2027.
The full master plan divides the estate into four stages. Stage 2 will cover 50 hectares and include 420 lots, while Stage 3 will comprise 100 hectares and 750 lots. The final 120-hectare stage is planned to deliver another 850 lots.
The company said Stage 2 could be brought forward by three to five years to capture demand from the SEZ's construction and operations workforces. Its commencement is expected to be triggered when 70% of Stage 1B has been pre-sold.
Landowner and state participation
Pacific Lime's subsidiary Mayur Industrials PNG Ltd. (MIPL) will participate as joint landlord with the Kido and Rearea landowner companies. The State, through Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd., holds a 13% shareholding in MIPL.
The land is held under 99-year state leases, with the proposed arrangement structured through 50:50 joint ventures with the respective landowner companies. Pacific Lime said the model would not require the purchase of land for the development.
A single master developer, Rearea Coastal Estate DevCo, will hold the development rights, assume commercial risk and manage delivery through an integrated office. It will operate under the approved SEZ governance framework while preserving the decision-making rights of the landowner joint ventures.
The company said development is intended to be supported by a proposed joint venture with an established PNG building company that is currently delivering about 1,000 house-and-land packages near the site.
Housing, public facilities and infrastructure
The first stage will include a 2-hectare town center, a 3.8-hectare park network, a display village and a sales center. Its proposed lot mix includes 120 courtyard lots measuring 300 square meters, 136 standard lots of 450 square meters, 48 family lots of 600 square meters and six foreshore lots of 900 square meters.
The wider township is planned around six walkable neighborhoods, with a civic and skills campus at its center and a coastal town center along the waterfront. The layout also provides for a green buffer separating residential areas from the SEZ's industrial precinct, as well as mangroves and a waterfront promenade.
At least 12% of each development stage is intended to be delivered as usable public open space alongside the first residential lots in that stage.
The proposed skills campus will combine the Regional Industrial and Community Development Hub, which is intended to support industrial testing and contractor development, with a National Pathways Skills Campus offering accredited education and training.
Pacific Lime's development plan also incorporates an 18-kilometer water pipeline across the precinct, as well as a bridge and road connecting Kido to Rearea. The company said power and water utilities, roads and the multi-berth port are under construction and are expected to support the estate.
The company's illustrative house designs range from two-bedroom homes to larger executive properties. The proposed products include a 72-square-meter two-bedroom house, a 115-square-meter three-bedroom home and a 200-square-meter, two-storey executive house. Designs and specifications remain indicative and subject to final design, approvals and valuation.
Pacific Lime said the packages are expected to be priced competitively against comparable Port Moresby estates. The properties are intended to carry registrable titles to support access to standard home lending.
The company also plans to offer housing packages to Kido and Rearea landowners and workers employed within the SEZ.
Staged funding and local materials
The estate is designed to be developed in sub-stages of approximately 10 hectares, allowing land to be serviced, sold and settled as the SEZ expands.
Pacific Lime expects the first stage to become self-funding after its initial sub-stages are settled, with proceeds from each subsequent release supporting the next. Funding is expected to come primarily from pre-sale deposits, advance purchases by employers and bank financing secured against completed stages.
The company said the approach would allow roads, parks and public spaces to be delivered using land-sale revenue rather than requiring significant upfront capital.
The development is also intended to create demand for building materials manufactured within the SEZ. Housing, civil works and public buildings are expected to use locally produced lime, cement, concrete blocks, pavers, precast products, roofing and fabricated steel.
Civil works, landscaping, security and estate-maintenance contracts are also intended to be offered first to the landowner joint venture company.
Pacific Lime Managing Director Paul Mulder said the estate was intended to turn the SEZ from an industrial precinct into a community where PNG families could live, train and work.
He said the staged development model would allow the township to expand in line with demand while providing housing near employment opportunities created by the company's projects and future industrial tenants.
The company said delivery of the Central Lime and Central Cement projects remained its priority. It added that the estate was structured not to require material capital from Pacific Lime or divert resources from those projects.
Pacific Lime said the master plan and development schedule remain subject to survey, approvals and landowner processes. The company is expected to provide further updates, including on the planned Stage 1 sales launch, as the project progresses.
Pacific Lime and Cement is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Papua New Guinea Exchange. Its projects include the development of PNG's lime and cement industry, the Kido/Rearea SEZ and associated industrial land and port infrastructure.
