The National Government will allocate money in the 2018 Budget towards a ‘State Equity Fund’ for the state to become large scale equity partners.
National Planning Minister, Richard Maru, said the funding will be used to attract investors to partner the Government in key projects.
The initiative is to see more Public-Private Partnership (PPP) involvement in economic growth.
Minister Maru announced during the Inaugural National Agriculture Summit yesterday that the ‘State Equity Fund’ is one of the strategies undertaken by the Government to partner private investors.
He told agriculture stakeholders that with the sector being the priority to underpin economic growth, money from the fund will be made available for large scale agriculture projects.
“Next week you will see a budget item called ‘State Equity Fund’. That fund is for us to become equity partners in agriculture and in other sectors to attract foreign partners,” he said.
Minister Maru said reviving rundown plantations was one key area under this funding.
Several provinces with key economic zones have been identified and the redevelopment of these areas will be a priority.
The Minister also said depending on the success of the partnerships, the Government will then offer its equity in successful projects to ordinary Papua New Guineans to invest in and benefit from.
(National Planning Minister, Richard Maru)