Essar Projects secures US$ 50 million contract in PNG

Essar Projects a Global EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor headquartered in Dubai announced that it had secured a construction project valued at US$ 50 million in Papua New Guinea for the Western Highlands Development Corporation.

This is the sixth international contract won by EPL this year and the second project secured by the company in PNG, where it earlier constructed and commissioned the Komo Airport for Exxon Mobil. Essar Projects’ current order book has swelled to over US$ 4 billion.

Mr Alwyn Bowden president and CEO, Essar Projects said: “This project is a historic win for EPL reaffirming the entrepreneurial nature of the company and the proven ability to operate in the most challenging of environments, and underpins a clear strategy to consolidate and build on our operations in Australasia, just as we are successfully doing in the Middle East and Africa.”

The project involves construction of Kapal Haus in Mount Hagen Western Highlands Province. EPL would design, construct and commission the Proposed Mixed Use Development project which will include construction of an office complex to house the provincial headquarters including the Governor’s office and a residential building for diplomats, ministers and high profile professionals. The project will be completed in 22 months.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Mr.Peter  O'Neill will inaugurate the project next month accompanied by four former Prime Ministers in a ceremony that will be graced by the Regional Head of the Catholic Church and all foreign diplomats.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

(www.steelguru.com)

NASFUND looks to invest in Fiji

From NASFUND June e-Newsletter

FIJI’S potential as an ideal investor location was discussed by National Superannuation Fund (NASFUND) Chief Executive Officer, Ian Tarutia, at the recent Fiji Institute of Accountants Congress 2013 held at the Sheraton Fiji Resort on Denarau Island early this month.

The event has been the premier meeting ground for Fiji’s private and public sector movers and shakers for many years.

Mr Tarutia was invited by Fiji’s Accounting Congress Committee following a marked increase in PNG’s institutional and private investors’ participation in Fiji.

One such investment is the joint venture between NASFUND, Lamana Development and Fiji National Provident Fund in the much-anticipated FJ$90 million investment redevelopment of the 5-star Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Grand Pacific Hotel Suva is 50% owned by NASFUND, 25% by Lamana Development with Fiji National Provident Fund owning the remaining 25%.

Tarutia said that NASFUND’s Board of Directors considered three fundamental issues as part of the decision making process to invest in Fiji: i) the quality of their joint venture partners, ii) hotel management capability and iii) the Melanesian connection with Fiji.

He added that “for NASFUND, with its high growth, excess liquidity and limited opportunities in conformance with its investment guidelines in the PNG economy, other jurisdictions had to be explored. Importantly portfolio diversification from single country risk is another consideration NASFUND takes into account. With the after effects of the Global Financial Crisis still reverberating in the western world, the Pacific region which remain unscathed was a natural area for opportunities.”

NASFUND’s first ever investment in Fiji, the Grand Pacific Hotel redevelopment, has been a catalyst of much=needed economic activity in capital Suva since works commenced in 2011.

Initially built by the Union Steamship Company in 1904, this legendary and luxurious hotel has accommodated dignitaries like Her Majesty the Queen of Britain and other reputable individuals who graced Fiji and the Pacific back then.

The revival of one of Suva’s most iconic landmark after two decades of it closing its doors is seen by some Fijians as a sign of more grandeur things to come and with it hope that NASFUND and other PNG investors will continue with their prudent investment in other business opportunities in Fiji.

Trade relations on agenda during PNG PM's Townsville trip

ABC

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister will discuss a possible increase in trade with Townsville during a visit to the city this weekend.

It will be the first time Peter O'Neill has visited the north Queensland city.
His two-day trip will include a tour through the Port of Townsville and watching a Cowboys' football game.
Dawson Wilkie from the Townsville Chamber of Commerce says it is an important opportunity to develop trade relations.
"We were looking to reinforce that and look at ways that we can improve that relationship," he said.
"Townsville businesses do a lot of trade in PNG, there's a lot of PNG students who come to TAFE colleges in Townsville."
Mayor Jenny Hill has other issues she'd like to raise.
"I want to talk to him about education opportunities here as well as health opportunities," she said.
She says she also wants to discuss fly-in, fly-out workers.
Mr O'Neill will arrive in Townsville on Saturday.

Restoring livelihoods for cocoa farmers in PNG after widespread crop disease

World Bank

June 26, 2013

Cocoa is a lifeline for thousands of small farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG), providing vital income for some 20 percent of the country’s population.In 2006, a devastating disease ravaged the crops of thousands of small farmers in East New Britain, the first province in PNG to be affected by the cocoa pod borer (CPB).The impact of this disease is severe. Untreated, its larvae tunnel into fresh cocoa pods and decimate cocoa harvests.

After the cocoa pod borer disease decimated harvests, a program is helping restore farmers’ livelihood and boost the country’s agriculture sector. View slideshow

Crop disease caused hardship for cocoa farmers
Farmers here saw as much as 90 percent of their crops destroyed. Total production in the province plummeted from 22,000 tons in 2008 to under 4,000 in 2012. This left many farmers and their families without a basic income, and created a great deal of hardship.
Nelson is a farmer in Vudal and cocoa is his main cash crop. In 2006, he had never seen CPB before.

When we saw it for the first time, it was horrifying. We just saw the insect bites. These looked like fruits that had fallen onto the ground and had lain there for weeks.

Nelson Farmer

“There was no warning,” Nelson said. “When we saw it for the first time, it was horrifying. We just saw the insect bites. These looked like fruits that had fallen onto the ground and had lain there for weeks.”
Across the province, communities describe how the loss of income left them unable to meet their daily needs, from sending their children to school, or paying for transport to get to town. Farmers went from harvesting some 15 bags of dry beans, to just one or two bags a month. Many gave up.
Alois Dulia orks as an assessor at Agmark, one of the cocoa buying companies in the province. He remembers when the factory was filled with cocoa beans, and farmers were literally queuing to sell their produce.
“There were farmers all the time, and we could hardly keep up with so much supply,” he recalls.
“Now, because we’ve got the disease it’s slowing everything. This place used to be full of cocoa. These days, we are always waiting for farmers to arrive.”

Working together with farmers to control the disease
Initiated in 2011, the World Bank’s Productive Partnerships in Agriculture Project (PPAP) is supporting community-led projects in East New Britain and Bougainville to help thousands of small farmers control the outbreak and restore their livelihoods.
Five cocoa partnerships have been established funded under the first round of the project, helping provide seedlings of more CPB-tolerant cocoa varieties. Model farmers have received training on techniques to manage CPB, and are working with extension workers to pass on their knowledge in their communities. Measures like regular harvesting, pruning, good block sanitation and pod burial can eliminate as much as 98 percent of CPB infestation.

Interest to plant cocoa has returned
Hosea Turburat is the manager of the Central Inland Baining Rehabilitation Partnership, part of the PPAP, which will rehabilitate 500 hectares of land. Altogether it will provide 100,000 new cocoa seedlings, for 500 farmers in the remote Bainings area.
“The main advantage is to increase production, because we are introducing hybrids which are CPB resistant, and also to increase income and improve standards of living.
“We have seen really invigorated interest in cocoa. The project has provided assistance to help farmers recover and reestablish their cocoa plots, and replant the trees.”
The project is also helping farmers plant other crops such as galip nut or taroas an additional income source. Some projects are supporting local agribusiness development and marketing, especiallyfor women farmers.
Funded by the World Bank’s International Development Association and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the project is supporting coffee and cocoa farmers through eleven partnerships in six provinces to date. With growing community interest, more partnerships are in the pipeline.
Another 14 partnerships are expected to be approved in the next few months. By the end of this year, more than 18,000 farmers will be benefiting from PPAP.

PNG PM congratulates Rudd

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has congratulated Kevin Rudd on his return to the Australian prime ministership, and says the strong relationship between the two countries will continue.

Mr O'Neill has also thanked former prime minister Julia Gillard for her commitment to the PNG/Australia relationship over the past three years.
"On behalf of the government and people of Papua New Guinea, I congratulate Kevin Rudd on his election as Leader of his party, and on returning to the high office of Prime Minister of Australia," he said in a statement on Thursday.
"I am sure the mutually beneficial and strong relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia will continue."
Mr O'Neill also wished Ms Gillard "every happiness and success in the future".
Ms Gillard made her first visit to PNG as prime minister in early May and pledged to redefine the relationship beyond its traditional setting of donor/aid.

"When she visited recently we had wide ranging discussions on bilateral and wider issues, and we appreciated the additional commitments she made under our development co-operation agreement," Mr O'Neill sai

PNG leader slams opposition's race attack'

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

PAPUA New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says a racially motivated attack on him by the nation's opposition leader is disgraceful.

Mr O'Neill on Monday responded to a weekend attack by Belden Namah in which the opposition leader accused the prime minister of not being Melanesian after he signed an extradition treaty with Indonesia.

PNG's leader says a racially motivated attack on him by the nation's opposition is disgraceful. Source: AAP

PNG shares its only land border with the restive Indonesian province of West Papua, and many West Papuans have fled east to escape Indonesia's rule.
"I just find it absolutely disgraceful that someone who claims to be a 'leader' can resort to race-based abuse and name-calling without provocation or justification," Mr O'Neill said in a statement on Monday.
"His vicious and uncalled-for attack on me while trying to justify his newfound position on Indonesia and Papua is disappointing, but sadly, it is also not unexpected.
"Mr Namah's disgraceful behaviour is one reason why the opposition numbers have dropped from around 20 to five or six since he became opposition leader last August."
Mr O'Neill last week visited Jakarta with a large business and ministerial delegation to sign the extradition treaty, and a series of commercial and civil agreements.
Mr Namah directed his response to the bilateral talks at Mr O'Neill personally, and said the O'Neill government would use the extradition treaty to send West Papuans fleeing Jakarta's rule back to Indonesia.
"Peter O'Neill is not a Melanesian," Mr Namah said.
"If he is Melanesian, he will feel the pain and the suffering of the West Papuans."
Speaking directly to the attack, Mr O'Neill said he was proud of the contributions his father - an Australian-born magistrate, or "Kiap" in Tok Pisin - had made to PNG.
"I am a proud Papua New Guinean," he said.
"I am proud of the contribution my late father made to Papua New Guinea before and after Independence. I am proud of my heritage, as are my children."
He urged Mr Namah to put up policies, adding there was no place for race-based politics in PNG.
Mr O'Neill is already suing Mr Namah for defamation after the latter publicly accused the prime minister of personally benefiting from government contracts.
The political falling out between Mr O'Neill and Mr Namah came after the 2012 national election that saw Mr O'Neill become PM and Mr Namah head a rapidly diminishing opposition.
For a year leading up to the election, Mr Namah was Mr O'Neill's deputy prime minister.
Now Mr O'Neill commands a large majority in parliament - about 95 out of 111 seats, while Mr Namah has seen his numbers shrink from 12 to just seven.
The pair's relationship soured during the lead up to the election, with Mr Namah publicly declaring during the campaign he should be the nation's prime minister.
Mr O'Neill last month reportedly took a page out of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating's play-book, telling Mr Namah in parliament he wanted to "undo [him] slowly".

PNGSDP supports water upgrade in Southern Highlands

Clean safe water will soon become a reality for the 15,000 people of Kape, Longo 1 and 2, and other Kambe Yakipu villages on the outskirts of Mendi, Southern Highlands.

A project involving the construction of a dam, a filtration system, an 80,000 litre Southern Cross tank and the installation of water pipes and taps is about to be implemented by the Baptist Union of PNG Health Services.

This will all be made possible thanks to K291,770 from PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd  and K300,000 from the Member for Imbonggu, Mr Francis Awesa (Minister for Works), and the expertise of the church.

The signing of the funding agreement took place on Monday, June 24 between PNGSDP and Baptist Union Health Services. 

Officials from Baptist Union PNG Health Services signing the funding agreement on Monday

A community water and sanitation committee consisting of six men and four  women will be set up to support the project team during the implementation phase. This is to ensure the communities are involved in decision-making and ownership from start to the finish.

“PNGSDP’s contribution to this project is backed up by trusted project implementers, financial support from the local Member of Parliament and the community’s contribution through sweat equity,” chief executive David Sode said.

"This sort of commitment, in PNGSDP's experience, makes all the difference to whether a project goes ahead or not, and whether it ultimately succeeds or not.

“Once completed, the project will provide clean water and improved health and hygiene for locals. It will also relieve women and children of the laborious task of walking long distances every to fetch water for their households.

“It will also make a big difference in terms of people’s health – water-borne diseases are a major problem in villages and as the population increases throughout the country, traditional water supplies are becoming inadequate and unsafe.

A safe and reliable water source has been identified in the hills behind the villages, away from human activity.

The system will be gravity fed and has the capacity to supply 200 litres of water per second from the dam to the reservoir tank, from where it is then piped to the villages and schools.

Water points will be erected at selected locations for people to access.

PNGSDP is a 63.4% shareholder in the Ok Tedi mine. The dividends from its shareholding are used to support development work across the nation, including community-based projects.