The Russian Federation has declared that it is happy and willing to supply the Sputnik V vaccine to Papua New Guinea. It said that once the pandemic is over, Prime Minister James Marape will be welcomed to Russia. The Russian government is negotiating with Papua New Guinea to create a reciprocal visa-waiver deal. This was said by Ludmila Vorobyov...

The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) will provide a division that will concentrate on what happens when a mine closes. One of the problems found in the industry, according to managing director Jerry Garry, is mine closure. “We are also looking to make sure that there is proper planning or sustainability beyond a mine closure,” he said. “When we clo...

The Bank South Pacific Financial Group Ltd has had its application to join the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) accepted. The bank will be listed on the ASX this week, according to Group Chief Executive Officer Robin Fleming, and shareholders will be able to transfer partial shares to the ASX. “We were listed on the PNGX (PNG Stock Exchange) in ...

In the first quarter of 2021, South Pacific Financial Group Ltd recorded a net profit of K203 million. According to the bank, this is a 2.6 per cent decrease from the first quarter of 2020, owing to a decrease in net insurance revenue and a rise in computing costs. Some highlights included net assets of K3.6 billion, a cost to income ratio of 40.3 p...

Trafigura Group Ltd has received approval from the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) for its planned acquisition of an additional interest in Puma Energy Group Ltd. Puma is now controlled by Trafigura, which owns the majority of the company, and will have a majority stake in Puma after the takeover. While Trafigura and Puma were...

Photo credit: Loop PNG (2020) Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Dr Lino Tom says the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and the Fisheries and Marine Resources Department are working on two main fishery ventures in Morobe and Madang. “The Voco Point facility will cost about K100 million,” he revealed. “Funding for the project is ready. We are j...

President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Ishmael Toroama, stated that Bougainville must achieve independence over the next four years, with members of the independent state's parliament being elected by June 2025. This comment was made by President Toroama as he explained the ABG's official stance as Bougainville starts the first post-refer...

The PNG Fisheries Strategic Plan 2021-2030 was recently approved by the National Executive Council for the next ten years. It lays out the Strategic Road Map and Vision for an internationally dynamic, equitable, and sustainable broad-based fisheries market and industry. PNG Fisheries Strategic Plan 2021-2030, according to Prime Minister Hon. James M...

St Barbara Limited is profoundly saddened to report that a local Papua New Guinean employee was killed at its Simberi Operations in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. The event has been the subject of a thorough investigation. The Papua New Guinea Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) has been notified. Mining activities have been briefly halted, with...

Water PNG will build a new K419 million water supply plant to meet Port Moresby's growing water demand and stability. Bunu, a planned 50Mld (millions of litres per day) water supply project in Central, is located 23 kilometres northwest of Port Moresby. According to a statement from Water PNG, the extension will be enough to satisfy the city's needs...

Weir Minerals is proud to announce another major order of Enduron® HPGR in Gold application with our valued Customer IAMGOLD. An Enduron® HPGR with rolls measuring 2.4 m x 2.4 m (length : diameter) will be installed at IAMGOLD's Côté Gold Project. This will be the largest HPGR in Canada and the largest in the world in a gold hard rock application. W...

Roger Kewa Avinaga died Sunday 16th May 2021 just ten days after the passing away of his beloved wife - Priscilla Nase Avinaga. By any measure, this was a very sad and tragic occurrence for the Avinaga family, but we hope that Roger and Priscilla will rest in peace together. Roger was born at Keakasa Village, Okapa in the Eastern Highlands Province, a ...

The redevelopment of the Mendi airport is underway, according to the National Airports Corporation Limited, and is 60 per cent complete. The project is part of the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program, or CADIP, which funds a range of impact aviation programs. Following a media story, the National Airports Corporation clarified the status of t...

Richard Kassman was recently named President of the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, and the PNG Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (PNGEITI) congratulated him. He recently took over for Gerea Aopi, who had served in the role admirably. Richard Kassman is the Director of Corporate Affairs, Total E&P PNG Limited, and was vic...

ROGER KEWA AVINAGA, who supplied many valuable insights on Papua New Guinea’s resources industry as the main columnist for PNG Business News since our first issue, passed away 15 May 2021 at Port Moresby General Hospital. He had just turned 51. Born 5 May 1970 in Keakasa Village, Okapa in the Eastern Highlands, Roger was still in mourning for his wife ...

The new terminal building for Manus' Momote Airport is well underway and starting to take shape. This project should be finished by November of this year. The Momote Airport upgrade is part of a series of high-impact projects financed by the Asian Development Bank's multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) loan and the Government of PNG's counterpart ...

PNG Power Limited (PPL) and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore possible energy resources for power generation in the area. This MoU was signed following a conversation between the ABG and PNG Power last year about working together to grow the energy market in AROB. A follow-up ...

Finance and high taxes, according to PNG Manufacturers Council chief executive officer Chey Scovell, are two of the most pressing problems in the downstream production of PNG goods. According to Scovell, downstream processing is a capital-intensive industry that requires a large sum of money. He also suggested that the government consider lowering c...

According to an S&P Global Rating research update, measures introduced in the battle against the Covid-19 are likely to bring more pressure on PNG's government finances. According to the study, the global pandemic has exacerbated PNG's systemic fiscal problems. “Much weaker revenues, coupled with larger recurrent expenditure, are a feature of th...

BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) and the Department of Finance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow the government to raise non-tax revenue through a digital payment solution. This is the first such MoU with any government agency, according to BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming. “These payment gateway modes would appropriately suit dif...

The gaming industry in Papua New Guinea has resumed regular operations, in full accordance with COVID-19. The decision was made following discussions with the National Gaming Control Board and the National Control Centre. Both Gaming Machine sites have reopened, and bookmaker sites will reopen next week. Imelda Agon, the NGCB's Acting CEO, praise...

The National Airports Corporation plans to devote more resources to the redevelopment projects at Kavieng, Tari, and Mendi airports as part of the Civil Aviation Growth Investment Program. With the exception of three airports, all airports under the CADIP program are on a budget, according to NAC acting managing director Rex Kiponge. Apart from Jack...

The government is putting a lot of effort into encouraging downstream production in the region. This was said by Prime Minister James Marape during a visit to Paradise Foods Company Limited. “We are focused on downstream processing as far as going forward is concerned –– instead of exporting raw products,” said Marape. “We want to go downstream to s...

Mayur Resources Ltd says it has formed an ongoing relationship with the State negotiation team to discuss and finalize a power purchase agreement (PPA) for its planned power plant in Lae, Morobe. The organization was waiting for the State negotiation team's makeup to be finalized and signed off, according to managing director Paul Mulder. After that...