Professor Eugene Ezebilo

PNGNRI researcher for the property development research program, Professor Eugene Ezebilo, said the government should play a facilitating role and not going about building houses.

Ezebilo told Loop PNG that there should be incentives to attract private investments in residential housing and property.

“For the housing sector to be competitive, the government should develop a policy that governs the private sector.

This will also promote opportunities for a competitive residential property market.

PNG National Research Institute (PNGNRI) reports that currently, most materials that are used to build houses in PNG are imported from overseas.

The import duties placed on the materials tend to push up their prices and consequently, this increases the cost of building houses.

PNGNRI researcher for the property development research program, Professor Eugene Ezebilo, said there is a need to lower duties on building materials, equipment and machines.