To bring electricity supply to Enga province and provide millions of kina in revenue, the Enga Hydro Power LTD and Power China (PNG) inked an agreement to provide the area with the K200 million Pilikambi hydropower project MOA. Under the agreement, the provincial government has 40 per cent share while China has 60 per cent, the latter to source technical assistance including funding.
When completed, the hydro project is expected to generate a total of 19 Megawatts in power which is 17 times the province is getting now at 2.3 megawatts from the Yongki Hydro main grid, and can also supply to neighbouring provinces.
“This is how big we are,” Power China executives said. The firm is also building a huge 50 megawatts hydro with the Brown River water system to find solutions for the electricity problem at Port Moresby. Their other projects included West New Britain, Oro and Wau Bulolo in Morobe Province.
Chairman of Enga Hydro Ltd Alan Guo said that this project began 7 years ago. “That’s how long it took for us to come this far to sign the agreement to kick start the project. Yes, building a hydro is not an easy task,” he said. “I want to tell the Enga provincial government, its administration, the people of this province and the country that we will deliver the project in two years.”
For his part, Managing director of Power China (PNG) Ltd He Tingfu also said his firm will work fast to bring electricity to the people. “As I have said we are a big in the World in producing power energy (electricity). With our building experience and skill capacity, we will deliver the Pilikambi Hydro project on time to the people of Enga,” he said.
Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas said, “The people of Pilikambi must appreciate that the construction of a big project will take place in their area. Their duty now is to change their attitude from being tribal warriors to being good citizens so you benefit from what the project got to offer.”
