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Photo: Consort’s newest addition to its fleet, general cargo vessel ‘Kimbe Chief’, is dedicated to providing a reliable, efficient, and safe service between PNG’s busiest port of Lae and West New Britain’s capital, Kimbe.

Papua New Guinea’s leading coastal shipping provider, Consort Express Lines (‘Consort’), recently welcomed the arrival of its latest cargo vessel ‘Kimbe Chief’. Consort’s purchase of the nearly 90-metre-long vessel, together with another barge, as well as 1,000 new shipping containers, represents a considerable investment and an ongoing commitment to provide Papua New Guinea with the best possible shipping service.

Kimbe Chief is the newest of 12 vessels in Consort’s fleet. Importantly, she has her own crane, enabling efficient and cost-effective cargo loading and unloading, and generous capacity. As her name suggests, she will be dedicated to servicing the weekly Lae-Kimbe-Lae Niugini Islands route.

Thomas Bellamy, Chief Operating Officer of the logistics division of Steamships Limited, to which Consort belongs, reports that “wanting to better service our import and export customers and communities who rely on the Lae-Kimbe-Lae route was the primary reason for Kimbe Chief’s purchase. In short, having one of our vessels solely dedicated to the route enables Consort to provide a more reliable and efficient service.”

Bellamy acknowledges that the Kimbe Chief ‘s purchase has the added benefit of freeing up other vessels that previously serviced the route, as well as minimising the impact of any unanticipated maintenance issues within Consort’s broader fleet. “We’re now more favourably positioned to not only provide an enhanced service between Lae and Kimbe, but better services across all routes. Furthermore, the expanded fleet has increased our charter project capabilities, which is particularly important for some of our biggest customers, including those in mining, as well as oil and gas.”

The company’s additional investment in another barge and 1,000 new containers, including high-cube reefers and 20FT and 40FT dry containers, is also significant in terms of increased service capacity and reliability. According to Bellamy, so too is it important in terms of safety. “Aging logistics infrastructure and equipment poses all sorts of potential risks when it comes to workplace safety, as well as environmental safety. At Consort our primary goal is to provide a 100 percent safe service which includes proactively replacing assets prior to them having any capacity to compromise safety.”

Consort transports cargo in a liner and project charter capacity for a diverse range of businesses, from domestic manufacturers and wholesalers to local farming, transport, and construction companies, as well as international energy and mining operators. Not only are Consort’s services vital to these organisations’ business operations but they are also critical to the health and development of communities all over Papua New Guinea. Consort has been transporting essential goods – including food, medicine, building materials and agricultural supplies – to communities for more than 40 years.

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Consort extensively invests in its fleet and infrastructure to better service its customers with a complete and reliable shipping service. As the largest coastal shipping company in Papua New Guinea, Consort provides greater capacity and more frequent services than any other coastal operator. Consort is a division of a larger, intermodal logistics group solely owned by Steamships Limited. To learn more about Consort: www.consort.com.pg

PM Marape assures PNG of full probe into election-related violence and crimes

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says all those involved in election-related violence and crimes will face the full force of the law.

He said this recently (August 21 2022) when commenting on the ongoing violence in Mendi, Southern Highlands, since the burning of ballot boxes in the Mendi Police Station in the early hours of last Thursday (August 18 2021).

PM Marape said he met with Mendi-Munihu MP-elect Raphael Tonpi, Police Commissioner David Manning and PNG Defence Force Commander Major-General Mark Goina immediately after the burning of ballot boxes.

“We met in anticipation of the situation in Mendi getting a bit out of control, which happened over the weekend,” he said.

“Police and PNGDF will ensure the law-breakers are brought to justice, and the situation is curtailed and not allowed to get out of hand.

“We will start work immediately into post-election investigations into illegal practices, violence and crimes.

“This work will be headquartered in Mendi and will move on there to Enga, Hela, Western Highlands and the other Highlands provinces.”

PM Marape said those involved in illegal practices, violence and crimes during the elections should release that they were just being used as “pawns” in a deadly game.

“The sponsors of these crimes will get away and you, who are just being used as pawns, will either end up being killed or face the full force of the law,” he said.

“I encourage those involved in these activities in Mendi to stop immediately because Police and Military will be in full force there for the rest of the year to investigate, arrest and bring you to justice.

“This applies not only to Mendi and Southern Highlands, but also to Enga, Hela, Western Highlands and other Highlands provinces.”

Pm Marape said in 2017, after large-scale violence in Southern Highlands, there was no commitment by then prime minister Peter O’Neill to prosecute those responsible.

“My Government chooses to differ and is totally committed to bringing to justice those responsible for election-related crimes,” he said.

“I will leave no stones unturned in as far as the Mendi incident, and others in the Highlands provinces, are concerned.”

PM Marape announced that a Parliamentary Committee would be established as a matter of urgency to review the 2022 General Election.

“As far as Government is concerned,” he added, “we gave full monies of K600 million to the PNG Electoral Commission, Police and Military to conduct the elections and we do not know why all these problems have erupted,” he said.

“I assure the nation that we at Government will undertake a full review into what transpired, including the Common Roll, logistics, transportation, performance of Electoral Commission officers from the top right through the rank-and-file.

“The investigation will be carried out by a high-level Parliamentary Committee that will be composed of both Opposition and Government MPs.

“It will probe and report to Parliament so that the mistakes of the past are never repeated as we look to the 2027 General Election and beyond.”

Article courtesy of PM Marape News Page

K92 Mining Publishes Third Annual Sustainability Report Outlining Significant Achievements in ESG

The 2021 Sustainability Report is available on the K92 website at the following link: https://k92mining.com/responsible-mining/

Photo credit: K92 Mining Inc

K92 Mining Inc is pleased to announce that it has published its 2021 Sustainability Report. This is K92’s third annual sustainability report, outlining the environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and performance of the Company. The report builds on the progress of our reporting and disclosures including key metrics in accordance with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) Metals and Mining Standard, and marks the start of K92’s alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) recommendations. A climate risk and opportunity assessment was completed, as well as a road map to further enhance K92’s climate management practices.

Environment, Social and Governance Highlights:

14% year-over-year increase in corporate tax and second-largest taxpayer in the mining industry in Papua New Guinea ($13.0 million paid in corporate tax).
95% of workforce and 98% of contractors are PNG Nationals with priority hiring from local communities.
$0.9 million in total community investment .
14% year-over-year Lost Time Incident (LTI) frequency reduction and once again operating with one of the best safety records in the Australasian region.
~50% lower carbon intensity per gold equivalent ounce produced compared to the global average ⁽¹⁾.
1.5 million PGK ($450,000) from the COVID-19 Assistance Fund supporting Papua New Guinea National Government, Eastern Highlands and Morobe Provincial Governments and local communities’ efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Environment, Health, Safety, Social and Sustainability Committee of the Board (the “ESG Committee”) was established to provide oversight with respect to environment, climate change, health, safety, social, sustainability, and other public policy matters relevant to K92.
Beginning alignment with TCFD recommendations by conducting a climate risk and opportunity assessment to support a low carbon transition and to build climate resilience, developing a road map for improved climate management practices.
10 million tree program participant supporting Papua New Guinea’s goal of planting one million new trees per year until 2030 and delivered 10,000 tree seedlings to schools around the Kainantu mine in 2021.
63% of total expenditures locally procured since start of operations, supporting the long-term development of locally-owned businesses, which earned $15.5 million in 2021.
Establishment of Diversity and Inclusion Policy to formalize our stance on embracing individuality and differences, and expectations of our people.
Human Rights Policy established to confirm our commitment to respecting the human rights and dignity of all individuals within our operations, supply chain, and communities in which we operate.
Sustainable Agriculture Livelihoods program expanded, employing ~80% women to provide them with active income and business skills, and committing $300,000 to establish a new market complex in the town of Kainantu to encourage commerce.
Strong commitment to education and training, including a 160,074 PGK ($46,000) contribution to post-secondary scholarships for 48 qualifying students, a $13,600 investment in business training for 489 impacted landowners and community members, and 96 students graduating from our Adult Literacy Program in 2021. Three additional scholarships were awarded to the top 3 ^rdyear students in Mining Engineering, Metallurgy and Mineral processing, and in 2022, addition of a Women in Mining Scholarship.
Community access to clean water increased through an investment of $37,500 (materials, excludes labour cost) and commitment to providing impacted communities with fresh water by improving water lines and installing new water supply systems.

All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Note (1): Based on S&P Global Market Intelligence 2020 data on a gold produced basis.

John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated, “It is with a tremendous sense of pride that we provide our various stakeholders K92’s 2021 Sustainability Report. The report demonstrates the far-reaching positive impact that the Kainantu Gold Mine continues to have on our local communities and Papua New Guinea, providing an update on our ESG practices, performance, and accomplishments.

The 2021 report continued the trend of increasing our disclosure to global frameworks, through commencing our alignment to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and developing a road map to further enhance our climate risk and opportunity management. We also completed a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and I am pleased to report that the Kainantu Gold Mine is a low carbon mine, with an emissions intensity approximately 50% below peers per ounce produced. The emissions inventory also highlighted opportunities to materially reduce our emissions near-term. Work on this in conjunction with PNG Power is well underway.

It is important to highlight that these accomplishments were achieved during a particularly challenging period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our workforce rose to the occasion, showing a strong commitment and dedication to the community, through continuity of many community projects, maintaining environmental commitments, while also increasing the economic benefit through expanding operations. The support of the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Government of Australia was also a major factor in our success.”

Article courtesy of K92 Mining

Upskilling Papua New Guinean youths to empower rural communities in transport infrastructure works

To build the capacity of the local workforce to support rural road transport infrastructure development projects in Papua New Guinea, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme trained and upskilled a new batch of interested young men and women in the Sepik region.

The EU Funded UN Joint STREIT Programme continues to train more young people from rural Sepik with the skills required for decent employment opportunities in road transport infrastructure development in Papua New Guinea. In its latest step, the Programme organised a 4-day training on ‘Occupational Safety and Health Hazards.’ Delivered in collaboration with the Yawasoro Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) Centre in Wewak, this course was the second part of 5-module training courses developed and implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme.

The training, conducted on 5-8 August, was attended by 22 youths comprising 7 young girls and 15 young men. The trainees were mostly Grade 8 and 10 leavers that were selected with the help of ward members from rural communities in the Sepik Region like Marienbeg, Angoram, South Wosera, North Wosera, Dagua, Banak, Wewak Rural and Aitape Rural Local Level Governments (LLGs).

Introducing the training and its purpose on the first day, the ILO-STREIT’s Chief Technical Advisor, Mr Shailendra Jha Kumar, said, “This training will help the youth to learn the hazards and safety requirements at construction site for safe construction environment. The participants will also be able to linked for employment as safety supervisor in construction sector.”

Some topics covered in the training were safety and health responsibilities, causes of common types of hazards, accidents at construction sites, prevention of accidents, risk assessment and control, identification of hazards and common types of hazards in construction sites, attending to emergencies and preparation of emergency safety plan, accident and incident reporting, safety signs and symbols, traffic management, recommended noise limit, ventilation and lighting, labour camp standard and its construction. The trainees were also imparted first-aid skills by experts from the Provincial Health Division in Wewak.

The training has provided a new window of opportunity for the 22 young attendees to seek employment opportunities in road construction and other sites to improve their lives. “I struggle to find school fees for my children, and with these skills, I can now find short-term employment in road construction sites to earn an income to support my children and family,” says a female participant, Eslyn Talis. A male participant, Victor Yahaipim added, “With these skills, I’m looking forward to doing something good with my life and want to say thank you.”

They can also seek employment with contractors engaged under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme to rehabilitate 15 access roads in various parts of the Sepik Region.

The 5-module training courses rolled out by the Programme aim to upskill a total of 150 young people on road infrastructure works, thereby developing local communities’ capacity to support, take part and benefit from infrastructure development projects in the region.

The EU-STREIT PNG is being implemented as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as the leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as implementing partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the Country and the Pacific region. It focuses on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through increasing the economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains and strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

PacTow Expands its Tug Fleet Again!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Camps for Modular Specialist

Photo: Local workforce installing Ark Pacific building units for a replacement camp at a one of PNG’s biggest mines. The camp encompasses 800 rooms in 16 two-storey accommodation blocks.

Prefab modular camp specialist, Ark Pacific, is working with one of PNG’s largest mines to finalise the design stage of a 700 room camp. Ark has provided the same mine with numerous modular buildings over a five-year period and is currently in the last stages of fully replacing another of its camps, a project encompassing 800 rooms. The company is also designing an entire camp complex further afield for the reopening of an Australian mine.

Thousands of Ark’s modular building units can be found all over PNG. The durability of the units, in combination with the speed with which they can be assembled into a multitude of building configurations, and their extremely low freight footprint (up to 75 percent less than other prefabricated alternatives) are key factors in the popularity of Ark’s building systems.

General Manager and long-term PNG operator, Cass Ruka, says that “building with Ark units can be likened to building with Lego because the units literally ‘click’ together. This means that unskilled workers in remote footprint communities can assemble Ark buildings, which is of course beneficial to these workers and their families, and therefore to resource clients wanting to achieve their local content objectives.”

Ruka says that the unrivalled suitability of Ark’s product for remote resource sector projects is evident in the long-term relationship he has built with one of PNG’s biggest mines, and the diverse array of buildings he has delivered for them. Having almost completed the 800 new rooms for the mine’s ‘Camp 1’, Ark is working with the client to finalise the design of the 700 room ‘Camp 2’. Like the original project, the second camp is a ‘replacement’ camp whereby aging accommodation blocks will be demolished and then replaced by Ark in a multi-staged process stretching over a 3-4 year period.

In addition to providing its client with what will be a total of 1,500 camp rooms, Ark has also delivered an array of other fit-for-purpose buildings (e.g., office complexes, mess facilities, ablution blocks, technical buildings, laboratories, training facilities). Additional building types, including a field maintenance workshop are also in the pipeline.

Ark’s design team expertise is not constrained to buildings. They are currently designing an entire camp complex for the reopening of an Australian mine. The complex will encompass administration, mess, dining, laundry, and recreation buildings, as well as accommodation for 300 people. Ruka says one of the design requirements for the accommodation buildings is that post-construction phase, when worker numbers decrease, shared accommodation units can be transformed into more generous living spaces through the removal of internal walls.

Modification and repurposeability are highly valued features of Ark’s building systems. “Particularly significant when building in PNG” says Ruka “is the fact that our buildings can easily be reconfigured and relocated to benefit footprint communities as schools, clinics, or libraries once clients no longer require them.”

Ark designs and builds to a range of international standards in addition to those pertaining to PNG, Australia, and New Zealand. The adaptability to different nations’ building codes is evident in the classrooms Ark are designing for international construction company, McConnell Dowell, in American Samoa. Ruka notes that a key design requirement for the two-storey classroom building and its accompanying ablution facilities, is wheelchair accessibility, which to date has not been a common requirement in buildings Ark provides elsewhere but one which he anticipates increasing, in a similar fashion to the growing requirement for more ‘green’ buildings.

BPNG: Focus More on Export-Driven Strategy

Photo credit: Post Courtier - Benny Popoitai

Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) claims that the government has to concentrate more on an export-driven strategy.

This statement on the country's current amount of foreign exchange was given by acting governor Benny Popoitai.

He said that the amount of foreign exchange reserves was $3.08 billion as of March 31, 2022. (about K10.66 billion).

“As of June 30, 2022, the gross foreign exchange reserves fell to US$3.052 billion (about K10.563 billion), mainly reflecting Government loan repayments and Central Bank interventions in the foreign exchange market,” he said in the bank’s quarterly economic bulletin for the December quarter 2021.

Popoitai asked the government to increase spending and boost export sector output, particularly in the agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and industrial industries. “Additional Government assistance to promote value-added exports, meet international export requirements and secure markets overseas would greatly assist growth in these sectors,” he said.

“The Government should focus on an export-driven strategy to boost production and exports in the non-mineral sector to increase PNG’s export earnings to support the domestic foreign exchange market and improve income for the rural people.

“If these sectors are developed, any depreciation of the Kina will have a positive impact on export revenue and growth, while minimising the impact of inflation.

“On the other hand, if the current export capacity in the non-mineral sector is not improved to respond adequately to the depreciation of the Kina, its impact will be more inflationary with a very small corresponding effect on growth and export revenue.

“Going forward, to address the on-going foreign exchange imbalance, any depreciation of the kina must be supported by relevant Government policies to address structural issues, especially to promote the export sector and minimise the impact on domestic inflation.”

Reference: The National (15 August 2022). “Focus on export strategy: Bank”.

Pasca A Project Discussions Resume

The Pasca A project's discussions will resume, according to Prime Minister James Marape.

Marape said that they would start dialogue with them after negotiations had been stalled for months.

“I assure resources licence holders for Wafi-Golpu, Pynyang, Papua, Pasca A, and Porgera that to enjoy the benefits of the current regime, we need to work together to make investment decisions on their current license now,” he said.

“We continue to work closely with them to get to that point that they make investment decisions. Our intentions are clearly demonstrated in the deal that we have agreed to for the new Porgera mine.

“We have gained more on the different benefit streams for the Papua New Guinea stakeholder, and provided much respect to the interest of the investor,” he said.

According to Marape, the government was devoted to ensuring that ongoing work on the pipeline was advanced.

“Porgera is the lowest-hanging fruit.

“Papua LNG goes into Feed (front end engineering and design phase) soon.

“We have a very good agreement with ExxonMobil on P’nyang and we will progress it in sequence with Papua LNG.

“Wafi-Golpu is undergoing negotiations but a landing is in sight.”

According to Marape, the government will also examine tax income and equity from resource developments.

“We have been fortunate to be part of the high prices in the last couple of months, which is likely to yield enormous benefits from both the taxes and the equity.

“We must make sure that projects are not disrupted in any way.

“We must finally settle all our commitments to landowners, and also ensure that the Sovereign Wealth Fund commences. We owe it to our future generation,’’ he said.

Reference: The National (15 August 2022). “Pasca A talks to resume: PM”.

Lack of Foreign Exchange Continues to Pose A Threat

For many of the country's main importers, the problem of lack of foreign exchange availability continues to pose a danger to supply security in the nation.

According to Hulala Tokome, Country General Manager and Director of Puma Energy, they are hopeful that a strong framework in terms of government policies would be in place to address these concerns with the creation of the new government and the Minister leading the industry moving ahead.

“This is to ensure that we can be able to maintain fuel supply security and make sure we have the required foreign currency in the market to bring in the much-needed fuel products into the country,” he said.

He said that Puma has continued to collaborate effectively with the government, and they would do so in the future, with the relevant Minister and BPNG.

According to Mr. Tokome, having a solid foundation will be beneficial for the government programmes already in place.

“’ This is to instill investor confidence, that there are no surprises of increased fee structures and importantly the charges that are being levied through to businesses are value adding and can be recovered especially in a price-controlled market,” he said.

The Treasurer has stated that there is a chance the government's current gasoline subsidy might be prolonged.

“It’s pleasing to have the government committed to continuing the fuel subsidy as a lot of discussions on making fuel cheaper for consumers continue to take place and it is important to keep on working with the government who are the policy/decision makers,” Mr. Tokome said.

Reference: Wohi, Lorraine. Post-Courier (12 August 2022). “Fuel Supply Security Important For Country, Says Puma Country Boss

Government Debt Sits at K48.1B

By the end of December 2021, the total public (government) debt still due was K48.1 billion, or 51.6% of the nation's GDP.

The present outstanding debt is made up of K25.2 billion from local sources and K22.9 billion from external sources, according to the acting governor of the Bank of PNG Benny Popoitai.

Total government deposits at depository firms rose by K1.3 billion to K5.2 billion, according to Mr. Popoitai, mostly during November and December of 2021.

“This increase reflected drawdowns of external budget support as well as financing from domestic sources,” he said.

According to him, the total domestic credit provided by financial institutions to the public sector, non-profit organisations, and "province and local level governments (P & LLGs)" declined by 0.2% to K17.7 billion from the previous quarter's gain of 0.9%.

According to him, loans to the public and private non-financial firms fell by K205.1 million and K53.5 million, respectively, to K15.6 billion and K1.8 billion.

“The increase in lending to the ‘P & LLGs’ of K224.5 million reflects a reclassification of a loan during the quarter,” he said.

According to Mr. Popoitai, the National Government's budgetary operations in 2021 indicated a deficit of K6.2 billion, down from K6.6 billion in the same time of 2020.

This amounts to 6.7% of the nominal GDP.

According to him, overall revenue and grants in 2021 were K13.8 billion, a 14.6% increase over 2020 and 101.4% of the 2021 Supplemental Budget amount.

“The outcome reflected higher than projected grants from development partners and tax revenue collections, which more than offset lower collections in Other Revenues (Dividends, Statutory Transfers, and Fees & Charges).

Total expenditure in 2021 was K20.1bn, 3.8 per cent higher than the 2020 outcome, and 0.8 per cent lower than the Supplementary Budget appropriation,” he said.

“As a result of these developments in revenue and expenditure, the budget deficit was K6.2 billion which was financed from domestic and external sources totaling K2.6 billion and K3.6 billion, respectively.”

Reference: Post-Courier (15 August 2022). “Govt Debt Sits At K48.1k

Official: Govt needs to see how agriculture contributes to GDP

An official claims that it's important to gauge how much agriculture contributes to the country's economic development, particularly its Gross Domestic Product.

The Department of Agriculture and Livestock's acting secretary, Dr. Nelson Simbiken, said: “We want to see in a coordinated manner capital investment programmes that have been invested in the agriculture sector.

“And we want to see government expenditure (in the) agriculture sector being delivered on government policies.”

At a meeting of the department audit committee in Port Moresby, he stated that the medium-term development strategy required agriculture to perform.

He claimed that the government invested money in the department and desired to see a profit.

Therefore, the audit committee should guarantee openness in the use of public monies.

The Department of Finance organized the conference to discuss measures to strengthen and enhance systems and procedures.

Simbiken advised conducting an audit of the department to make sure funds allotted for labor programs were properly used.

The meeting, which was presided over by Sam Penias, deputy secretary of the Department of Finance, was held to make sure funds were used properly and in accordance with procedures.

Earlier, Simbiken urged commodities boards to spend cash to support government programs in their initiatives.

Simbiken said that the audit meeting was held by the Department of Finance to assist them.

He claimed that the agency, which had budget codes, oversaw a number of boards.

Reference: The National (18 August 2022). “Govt needs to see agriculture’s contribution to GDP: Official”.

Mineral Resources Enga Signs Porgera Shareholders Agreement

The Shareholders Agreement has finally been approved in Port Moresby by Mineral Resources Enga and the Landowners of the Porgera Gold Mine in Enga Province.

Nixon Mangape, director of Mineral Resources Enga (MRE), stated that although MRE had been expected to approve the shareholder's agreement four to five months prior, there were still certain concerns that needed to be resolved.

The equity, resettlement date deadline, commencement date, and security deed deadlines, which weren't included in the agreement until recently, were the three main issues, according to Mr. Mangape, that contributed to the delay in signing the shareholder's agreement. However, they have now reached an agreement and done so in response to the national interest.

“I am appealing to the Prime Minister that the first agenda we must discuss during the development forum is the resettlement of the people because the mine is located in a village and we must discuss on how we can move the landowners out of the mine area,” Mr Mangape said.

In a statement, the Enga Provincial Government-owned Mineral Resources Enga (MRE) and landowners signed a shareholder agreement for the Porgera Gold Mine, which was applauded by Prime Minister James Marape.

According to Mr. Marape, it represents a significant development toward the reopening of the Porgera mine, which has been shut down since 2019.

“The long-overdue reopening of the Porgera Gold Mine is finally in sight following yesterday’s milestone achievement,” Mr Marape said.

“I thank Enga Provincial Government, particularly Governor Sir Peter Ipatas, and Porgera landowners, led by their leader Nixon Mangape for making this possible.

The agreement paves the way for the Development Forum and progression towards mine reopening at the earliest.”

The Shareholders Agreement was signed by Mineral Resource Enga (MRE), which was welcomed by Barrick Niugini Limited. In the upcoming days, Barrick Niugini Limited will issue a media statement with more information about the Porgera Mine restart.

Reference: Kamus, Maxine. Post-Courier (19 August 2022). “MRE Signs Off On Porgera Mine Shareholders Deal”.

PM Marape welcomes signing of Porgera shareholder agreement

Photo credit: Pacific Mine Watch

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has welcomed the signing of the Porgera Gold Mine shareholder agreement by Enga Provincial Government-owned Mineral Resources Enga (MRE) and landowners in Port Moresby today (August 18 2022).

He said it was a “milestone achievement” towards reopening of the Porgera mine which has been closed since 2019.

“The long-overdue reopening of the Porgera Gold Mine is finally in sight following today’s milestone achievement,” PM Marape said.

“I thank Enga Provincial Government, particularly Governor Hon. Sir Peter Ipatas, and Porgera landowners, led by their leader Nixon Mangape, for making this possible.

“Today’s agreement paves the way for the Development Forum and progression towards mine reopening at the earliest.”

Article courtesy of PM James Marape News Page

PM Marape says K794 million Nadzab Airport will be ‘gamechanger for Lae, Morobe and PNG’

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the K794 million Nadzab Airport Redevelopment Project (NARP) will be “a gamechanger for Lae, Morobe and Papua New Guinea” when completed.

He said this today (August 18 2022) after publication of the latest update of the project by National Airports Corporation (NAC).

“The NARP is a high-impact Government project which is funded by the National Government through a soft loan from the Government of Japan through Japanese International Cooperation Agency,” PM Marape said

“The Japanese ODA Step Loan, PN-P11, was signed on October 15, 2015, for 26.942 billion Japanese Yen (K680 million) and counter-funded by GoPNG with K114 million.

“The NARP could have been completed earlier, but for several reasons, including lack of counterpart funding by the O’Neill government and the onset of COVID-19.

“According to the NAC, the NARP is 70 per cent completed, will be 90 per cent completed by the end of this year, and will be fully completed by April 2023.

“I thank the Japanese Government, the Japanese contractors who have built the airport to highest international standards and our very-own NAC for this world-class project which will enable international flights in and out of Lae.”

PM Marape said Nadzab in the Markham Valley, Lae, Morobe and PNG would boom with the NARP, sealing of Yalu Bridge-Nadzab Section of the Highlands Highway at a cost of K400 million, and building of Nadzab Satellite City.

“For more than 10 years, the people of Lae, Morobe and PNG have been complaining about the bad roads between Lae and Nadzab,” he said.

“I am well aware of your cries as I, on my many visits to Lae over the years, have driven through the mud and potholes.

“I can assure you that you will have one of the best roads in the country when the Yalu Bridge-Nadzab section is completed.

“People will be able to travel in comfort from Lae to Nadzab, and then get on an international flight, once the new international airport is completed.”

PM Marape said the new satellite city, an initiative of the National Government and Morobe Provincial Government, would transform Lae and Morobe.

He commended Deputy Prime Minister and Lae MP Hon. John Rosso for being in the forefront of this exciting project for Lae, Morobe and PNG.

“It is a timely intervention with the giant Wafi-Golpu Mine soon to come on stream,” PM Marape said.

“I welcome this satellite city development, where the private sector and super funds, will be major drivers in partnership with the State.

“Once completed, it will complement Nadzab International Airport, and will be timely with Wafi-Golpu and the major agri-business developments in the Markham Valley of Morobe and Ramu Valley of Madang.

“It will also provide home ownership for hundreds of Papua New Guineans.”

Article courtesy of PM James Marape News Page

PM Marape asks for Australian business sector to partner PNG in downstream processing and industrialisation

Photo: PM Marape in Parliament on August 9, 2022.

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape is making a call on Australian businesses to consider importing more from Papua New Guinea to balance the disproportionate import-vs-export scale that the two countries have existing between them.

He also wants to see more Australian investors partner with PNG to move his Government’s goals on downstream processing and industrialisation closer to realisation.

The Prime Minister said this today (170822) as he apologised to Business Advantage PNG for his non-attendance at its recently-concluded conference because of urgent work commitments, but thanked it at the same time for continually hosting these forums that keep in the public and investor consciousness trade and investment between the two countries.

The Prime Minister said: “I thank the council for its continued conferences, seminars and forums but what else will they hear from me?

“I have been speaking my mind since 30 May 2019. They know me. I am pro-Papua New Guinea business while I encourage strongly foreign businesses who let Papua New Guinean partnership and engagement.

“We want to Take Back More from our natural and national wealth with a balanced view that our genuine foreign investors make a return on their investments.

“We want to move now into industrialisation by tapping into downstream processing of our natural resources.

“I want to ask Australia companies to seriously partner PNG companies in the area of PNG building a stronger diversified economy and it is about time Australia buy more of PNG’s products.”

While appreciating the sturdy relationship already existing between the two countries, the Prime Minister pointed out that new heights could be reached if Australia could push its trade and investment boundaries further by exploring these named options.

“Australia and PNG businesses have had a relationship for along time and that is good but we need to reach new heights. With Australia as a place of export for our products, we have a huge trade imbalance where we import more and export less to Australia.

“We want to send our food, our energy, our finished forest products, and our human resources at all levels to Australia.

“I was at Singapore organising our diplomatic mission to be at the front of our trade, commerce and business engagements with South-East, North and West-Asia where we have over two billion people in these markets.

“I am serious about downstream processing of our resources to make an economic leap for PNG. This includes our creating a law-abiding and orderly country, finding cheap energy and using PNG’s bilateral relationships to secure markets for our products.

“It is about time PNG and Australia as close nations politically become even more closer in by having Australian business buying PNG products and hiring PNG workforce.

“Areas like replacing food imports is something I am looking at very seriously so we stop capital flights elsewhere but grow PNG.

“If PNG is stronger economically then Australia and the region benefits with a secure solid nation of millions of people.”

STREIT Innovation Fund to promote development of local agripreneurship and innovative solutions in Papua New Guinea