With less than two weeks to go before the start of the inaugural Community Affairs and National Content Conference and Expo (CANCONEX), activities in the host city of Lae, Morobe Province have ramped up feverishly in anticipation of the landmark conference.
With more than 700 business delegates expected to descend upon the city for the conference, the demand in the host city has increased significantly, with many leading hotel and accommodation, transport and service providers already booked out for the duration of this event. This has been a massive positive for PNG's second city which is usually overlooked for national business events.
In providing an update on preparations for CANCONEX, President of PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, Anthony Smaré spoke of opportunities for businesses in Lae city, with this influx of people who will be attending this event.
“Since the announcement of CANCONEX, the Chamber has been assisting our member delegates, both project operators, and landowners, to source flights, accommodation, and transport requirements for their duration of stay in Lae. Although we expected significant demand in a national content conference, even we were taken by surprise by how well the business community has responded and how quickly the main Lae hotels were booked out!"
"Given the immense demand for the dates around our event, this has led to a shortage of accommodation options, with many leading accommodation providers reporting that they may be unable to provide for the increase in numbers in Lae. Similarly for vehicles, as well as air travel options into Lae for the conference and expo dates."
The Chamber is therefore seeking to provide alternative options for delegates, and is in discussions with a few providers, to ensure that these additional options are provided to those who will be attending this important event.
This includes a discount with the PNG Air for flights into Lae, discounted accommodation rates for selected accommodation providers, as well as organizing shuttle services for delegates to the official conference venue on the days of the event.
We thank the Lae business community, who have provided the support in ensuring that delegates to CANCONEX are being given priority for services during CANCONEX.
We look forward to welcoming all our delegates to Lae, for CANCONEX 2023.”
Registration for CANCONEX is still open, with a special 50% discount off the registration price available to landowner representatives from project areas, who are endorsed by their respective project Community Affairs teams.
