Port Moresby’s new star attraction
Dominating the skyline at 15-storeys high, Papua New Guinea’s newest hotel – Hilton Port Moresby – is both impressive and hard to miss. Its sheer height, however, isn’t what makes this development stand out.
Instead, it’s the mighty footprint of its surrounding precinct, Star Mountain Plaza, which takes in the Kutubu convention centre, an amphitheatre and a fine-dining restaurant, Mumu, named after the traditional earthen oven from the highlands of PNG.
Star Mountain Plaza, a joint venture between the PNG Government and three major provincial landowner companies, has taken years of planning, design and construction. More than PGK750 million in investment has been poured into the hotel and convention centre alone.
What catches your eye first is the abundance of green flora. More than 12,000 native plants have been trucked in, creating an outdoor oasis in the city centre.
It’s also evident that the two main architecture firms, Auckland-based Ignite Architects and Melbourne’s Grimshaw Architects, thought long and hard to ensure its aesthetic design embraces the spirit of the nation.
“They took inspiration from around PNG,” Matthew Ezra from project management group Stratum says. “There are some real subtleties, like the Fly River references in the design.” The Fly River comes through in the shape of the precinct’s landscaping, which twists around the garden, while the convention centre’s external design is inspired by PNG’s traditional longhouses.
Connected to the Hilton by an outdoor walkway, is the 3900-square-metre convention centre, with its eye-grabbing curved rooftop. Its banquet hall can seat up to 600 people. Next to it is Mumu, which Hilton general manager, John Lucas, says showcases the country’s traditional cooking.
“There will be a lot of the nice cuts of meat and chicken, all roasted, seafood, and traditional root vegetables like kumara, sweet potato, and the like,” he explains. “This will be an authentic food experience, so it’s about how all the items are cooked, the garnishes and all the service that goes with it.”
At the height of construction, over a 1000 people worked on Star Mountain Plaza, including more than 700 locals, and a few hundred workers now have ongoing employment to run the services.
Stage two of the plaza’s development is underway and will include 160 apartments and shops. It’s expected to be finished in 2020.
At the height of construction, over 1000 people worked on Star Mountain Plaza. Stage two of the plaza’s development is underway and will include 160 apartments and shops.