Infrastructure development and improving the agricultural sector are the two key focusses for World Bank financing in Papua New Guinea. But, on a personal level, it is education and its potential that inspires its PNG Country Manager, Steffi Stallmeister. She spoke to Business Advantage PNG.
The suspension of a second mine in Papua New Guinea has highlighted the impact of the El Nino drought, which is also severely affecting the agriculture industry. Just how long the drought continues for will determine the long-term effects, according to Paul Barker, the Executive Director of the Institute of National Affairs.
Pacific International Hospital, Papua New Guinea’s only private hospital offering advanced tertiary healthcare, continues to introduce medical treatment not previously available in the country at its new facility in Port Moresby. CEO Dr Amyna Sultan told Business Advantage PNG that the PIH is now focused on making this treatment more affordable for average families.
Work began this month to develop the Paga Hill Estate, at the iconic headland of Papua New Guinea’s capital city, Port Moresby. The development’s architect Paul Gallagher tells Business Advantage PNG the project will transform Port Moresby’s infrastructure and public accessibility.
The completion of the Kulum Flyover project proved that Papua New Guinea was capable of delivering significant road infrastructure developments at an international standard under tight time constraints. Lead contractor, New Zealand’s Hawkins Group, executed a project that provided a number of lessons for infrastructure developments in the future.
Satellite-enabled phone and data services have often been considered a technology of last resort, due to relatively high costs and quality constraints. However, Dutch company O3b is pioneering the next generation of cheaper, more reliable satellite communications in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific—good news for a region where getting connected can be a major challenge.
Papua New Guinea has the perfect climate for solar, and is the key to achieving an ambitious government plan to bring electricity to the 70 per cent of Papua New Guineans who currently don’t have access by 2030, according to Rick Hooper, Chief Executive Officer of Sydney-based solar company, Barefoot Power.
Major road works in Papua New Guinea are now outsourced to the private sector, under a design-and-build model. The result, says the Secretary of the Works Department David Wereh, is improved performance.
A decision on who will build a second K300 million berth at the Port of Lae is expected by the end of 2015 and construction due to commence in 2016, according to PNG Ports’ Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Alphonse. A new industrial park and an international operator for the port is also on the cards.
The CEO of Telikom PNG predicts all Papua New Guinea will be able to connect to the Internet within two years. In a wide-ranging review of PNG’s telecommunications industry, Michael Donnelly canvasses lower prices, new investment, takeovers and the impact of competition policy.