$25m injection to help PNG expand grid
AUSTRALIA will put $25 million into a joint effort to electrify Papua New Guinea, in one of the largest projects in the Pacific nation’s history.
Only 13 per cent of PNG’s population has access to reliable electricity, but Australia, the US, Japan and New Zealand will all chip in to fund a series of power and communications projects.
The Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership will aim to have 70 per cent of the
There will be 35 premium allotments in the Pinnacle Newtown release, on top of the Herne Hill hillside, with later stages to offer views over the Moorabool River.
Joint developer ICD Property deputy managing director Matthew Khoo said the combination of the larger blocks, flat land and views country connected by 2030.
“I know from direct experience that living without electricity is incredibly difficult,” PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said yesterday.
The mountainous PNG is notoriously difficult for infrastructure projects.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had sat in remote villages and had some understanding of how hard it was to live without power. made for an exclusive address.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Mr Khoo said.
“There are limited lots in this release and it’s not something that hasn’t been tested. We have already created a masterplan and 400plus lots have already been sold and the blocks have been increasing in terms of value.”
“It’s time to power up PNG right across the country,” Mr Morrison said.
NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the project would unlock opportunities for women, while US Vice President Mike Pence said quality of life in PNG would improve.
The project will require large-scale public and private investment.
The deal is the first to be funded under the trilateral infrastructure deal announced last week between the US, Japan and Australia.
The project comes as China increases its infrastructure push into PNG.
But locals have criticised China for building unnecessary projects that do not help the community.
The Chinese projects are built by Chinese workers and the money goes back to Chinese companies.
Australia will commit $25 million in the first year.