Khafra Kambon, Commercial Director at Digicel Pacific, will be speaking at Innovation PNG 2019 in Port Moresby on 8 November. In this exclusive interview with Business Advantage PNG, he talks about connectivity challenges, infrastructure and Papua New Guinea’s digital future.
Infrastructure
Prime Minister James Marape has outlined a two-pronged economic strategy to boost Papua New Guinea’s economy. He has also commented on the government’s attempts to manage the country’s rising debt, reports David James.
The 20-year National Road Network Strategy to improve Papua New Guinea’s roads is about to begin. David Wereh, Secretary of the Department of Works & Implementation, says the strategy aims to address both maintenance of existing roads and building new connections.
Lae, Papua New Guinea’s second-largest city, is again emerging as a key location for investment. Far from drawing investors away from capital Port Moresby, a buoyant Lae could actually be good for both cities, say representatives from the two cities’ business chambers.
The International Finance Corporation is undertaking a scoping study of the Markham and Ramu valleys to assess agricultural opportunities in Papua New Guinea. The results will help to develop a win-win business model for agri-investors and customary landowners.
Acting Managing Director Carolyn Blacklock has resigned from state-owned utility, PNG Power. The announcement comes with the state-owned utility on the cusp of launching a new ‘reform agenda’.
NKW Fresh, a division of the landowner-owned conglomerate NKW Holdings, is providing fresh produce across Papua New Guinea and aiming to export to the region. David James explores what this may mean for the country that aims to be the ‘food basket’ of the region.
Sixty per cent of households in Papua New Guinea are now using solar energy, compared with just two per cent seven years ago, according to a recent International Finance Corporation report. What’s driving this extraordinary growth? asks Kevin McQuillan.
Currently, the only way of bringing bulk agricultural produce out of Papua New Guinea’s fertile Highlands is down the Highlands Highway to the port city of Lae. A new study has identified a faster second route—through Gulf Province. Business Advantage PNG investigates.
PNG Forest Products started as a forestry company but is also now a full-fledged power company too. Managing Director Tony Honey tells Business Advantage PNG how the company is expanding its manufacturing, increasing exports and handling growth.