PNG set to become maritime transportation hub

The Port Moresby-Motukea International Port will help deliver PNG’s plan on becoming the shipping and maritime transportation hub of Asia and the Pacific.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said this during the official opening on Friday (June 15).

He said the port is a testament of the Government’s determination to connect the country’s people and businesses to each other and to the rest of the world.

The PM said the idea to relocate the port from Port Moresby to Motukea was envisioned thirty years ago, during his time as a director of the PNG Harbours Board. Today, this has become a reality.

“Today as we launch a magnificent world class port, I wish to reaffirm the commitment that I made to the commonwealth,” said O’Neill.

“In all that we do we must connect our people and improve lives. Nothing else is important.

“This billion Kina Motukea Port represents more than just a commercial hub to conduct trade and investment. It stands as a testament of our ability to connect our people and our industries better, first to each other locally and then with the rest of the world,” said the Prime Minister.

State Owned Enterprise Minister, William Duma, said together with the Lae port, the Motukea Port now propels PNG to take its place as one of the important shipping hubs of Australasia and the Pacific.

“Motukea Port is the penultimate expression of the desire of the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, and his Government to open up the waterways, the highways, and the airways of this country to connect our diverse communities to each other and to the rest of the world,” said Duma.

“Only transport infrastructure can unlock the huge potential this nation has, and the O’Neill Government has spent over K15 billion in the last seven years in this sector alone. Airports, roads, wharves, have been built and upgraded all over the country. Much more remains to be done but we have started and we will not stop.”

PNG Ports Chairman, Sir Nathaniel Poiya, said the new port facility will bring about improved efficiencies which will bring down the prices of key imported commodities.

“It is a fact that about 80-90 percent of the items in the basket of commodities in the C.P.I are shipped through the Ports,” said Poiya.

“These improved port efficiencies have the potential to significantly benefit exporters and importers using the Motukea and Lae terminals.”

Meanwhile, a 26-storey office complex being built adjacent to the Internal Revenue Commission will accommodate the new head office of the PNG Ports Corporation.

Author: 
Cedric Patjole