The Gulf to Southern Highlands Highway missing link is set to be funded under the new tax credit scheme, K56 million in royalties for forest landowners, and Geopacific Resources announces the acquisition of the remaining seven per cent of JV with Kula Gold. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

PNG’s National Planning Minister, Richard Maru, said during the launch of the new revised Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (ITCS) policy guidelines that the first project funded under the new ITCS will be the Gulf-to-Southern Highlands Highway 12 km final missing link.

‘This road will be funded by Oil Search and we are very confident before the end of this year, Gulf and Southern Highlands will be linked for the first time. Work is expected to commence in the coming weeks.’

Maru also said that the Government is planning to raise K1 billion in the next three years to fund infrastructure projects in different provinces. (LOOP PNG)

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Geopacific Resources has announced that it’ll acquire the remaining seven per cent of its JV holding with Kula Gold Ltd. This will give Geopacific Resources full ownership of the Woodlark gold project.

According to its Managing Director Ron Heeks, ‘Acquiring 100 per cent direct interest in Woodlark is a positive step in the project’s development pathway.’ (The West Australian)

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Goodwill Amos, acting Managing Director at PNG Forest Authority, announced during the leader’s summit in Port Moresby that, in 2018, forest landowners were paid K56 million in royalties.  (The National)

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Mineral Resource Development Company (MRDC) has commissioned several projects in the villages of Papa, Boera and Porebada, in Central. The projects are being funded by the ‘Gas Resources PNG LNG Ltd, through its 30 per cent community infrastructure trust fund (CITF) portion of landowner benefits from the PNG LNG project.’ (The National)

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NASFUND Contributors Savings and Loan Society (NCSL) has made application forms available for its new transaction account. This is part of its plans to launch a ‘debit card offering and Point of Sale terminals’ by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

NCSL is ‘now urging more than 100,000 members to register their interest in a debit card. (Post Courier)

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Duty-free and travel retail operator PROUDS has opened its first domestic store in Port Moresby’s Waigani Central. (The National)

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On International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill aired a proposal to create parliamentary seats only for women. Papua New Guinea has 111 members of parliament who represent about 8.3 million people, currently there are no elected female members. (Post-Courier)

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John Kasu, Managing Director of PNG’s National Fisheries Authority (NFA) said during the presentation of his five-year progress report that NFA ‘has generated revenue of K2.4 billion (US$711 million) since 2010, with K1 billion (US$296 million) paid as dividend to the State’. (ONE PNG)

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Papua New Guinea’s National Court has declared illegal the four-year liquor ban imposed last year in the province of Madang (RNZ)

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Photograph of the week

NASA’s interim President gifted a pig to the Minister of Higher Education.

Staff at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) protested against recent appointments by the Minister of Higher Education, Pila Niningi. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had to intervene to stop the protests.

Niningi reportedly said ‘I have made my decision based what is the best for our Higher Education Institutions. I am not motivated by political desires or ambition.’

Before returning to classes, UPNG staff surprised Ningini when they gifted him a pig. Acting National Academic Staff Association (NASA) president Mark Kia said that it was ‘the Melanesian way’ of putting differences aside and working together. (LOOP PNG)