Governor Ginson Saonu of Morobe wants the Wafi-Golpu project to benefit from the same benefit-sharing agreement as the current Porgera mine.
He said the Porgera deal, which gave PNG stakeholders 51 per cent ownership, was good news for the Wafi-Golpu talks.
“I am optimistic we will have a much more superior arrangement coming out of Wafi-Golpu,” he said.
“We have learnt, but there is still much more to be done as we as a country and for our Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister James Marape and Pangu Pati, to own our resource projects and strive towards economic independence.” Morobe wanted to lead the way, according to Saonu, and he saw Wafi-Golpu as the impetus for this transition, which would result in the growth of more industries and other economic benefits.
Given the many new changes, he said the Morobe government was now finalizing an analysis of their policy paper.
Saonu stated that he planned to present it to the National Government this month in order to prepare for the mining production negotiations as well as the benefits to the province and landowners.
“Our position is that we want all stakeholders to benefit equitably,” he said.
“The developer, the Government, the Morobe government, landowners and Morobe province.
“This Wafi-Golpu mine is a significant mine in the region and it is important all parties are happy to move this project.”
The Morobe government's stance on deep-sea tailings positioning and court matters, according to Saonu, remained unchanged.
