Infrastructure has been the subject of heavy discussion in the past month. Unreliable telecommunications and utilities were two of the major impediments identified by our 2020 PNG 100 CEO Survey, and I was able to ask State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel about the government’s plans to reform PNG Power, Kumul Telikom and other state-owned enterprises at a special POMCCI breakfast last month.
You always have to be prepared for surprises in PNG, but it certainly looks like the ExxonMobil-led P’nyang gas project will not proceed in its current form, following the Government’s withdrawal from negotiations over the gas agreement for the project.
New island resort opens in Papua New Guinea
27 November is looming large as a key date for Papua New Guinea, with the date nominated for concluding negotiations between the State and developers over the ExxonMobil-led P’nyang gas project.
In a country like PNG, where even the National Population and Housing Census (due again next year) is problematic, market data and intelligence is hard to come by.
So, the Papua LNG project has been given the all-clear by Minister for Petroleum, Kerenga Kua. The debate about who ‘buckled’ and who kept their nerve will take place, no doubt, but the end of the government’s review into the gas agreement signed in April is to be welcomed.
The World Bank’s latest economic update on Papua New Guinea makes for interesting reading. We can expect growth this year in PNG, but how much will depend on a lot of factors, not all of which are within PNG’s control.
Papua New Guinea’s new government, led by a Prime Minister who likes meetings to start on time, is starting to reveal its agenda.
Papua New Guinea has a new Prime Minister, James Marape, and also, if not an entirely new government, at least a government representing a generational change in PNG’s body politic (Marape is 48).
After years of low growth, the Pacific’s largest economy is looking to benefit from new resources and infrastructure investment—plus a dividend from hosting APEC 2018. Business Advantage PNG’s Andrew Wilkins talks with Papua New Guinea’s business leaders about the year ahead.