New dates for Papua New Guinea’s National Elections announced, Qantas Airways resumes flights to Papua New Guinea and Lole Mining gets mining lease for ambitious project in Central Province. The business news you need today.

Credit: BSP

National elections

A new schedule for PNG’s National Elections has been approved which will see the election period reduced to eight weeks. The new date for the issuing of writs is 12 May, with polling due to commence on 2 July and end on 22 July. The final date for the return of writs is now 1 August. (Post-Courier)

Aviation

Qantas Airways has resumed flights to PNG after two years of border closures and restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline will have three return flights (Brisbane–Port Moresby) per week. (Simple Flying)

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Prime Minister Marape (centre) during the new Momete Airport terminal building. Credit: National Airports Corporation/Facebook

The new building terminal at Momote International Airport in Lorengau, Manus Province, is now in open. The airport’s upgrade and its new facilities were funded by the Asian Development Bank and the State. During the official opening ceremony, Prime Minister Marape also talked about Manus Special Economic Zone (MSEZ). He said that under the Manus Special Economic Zone project companies operating in Manus ‘will not pay corporate taxes.’ (The National)

Telecommunications

Vodafone has landed in PNG and during its official launch, company representatives talked about possible tower sharing with the other two telco companies in PNG – Telikom PNG and Digicel. (Business Advantage PNG)

Mining

A 10-year mining lease has been granted to Lole Mining Limited to develop the Tolukama Central Gold Mine in Central Province. The mine has the potential to produce 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold a year but first it needs to be restarted. The expected investment of the mine restart has an estimate cost about US$250 million (about K860 million), said Lole Mining Managing Director and CEO Iain MacPherson. ‘The mine is flooded, we have to create new tunnels to the bottom of the mine and help drain it and make sure it stays drained. That in itself is an 18-month to two-year project,’ he said. (Post-Courier)

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The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) has launched the Osisoft pi system, which monitors the resources extracted by the different mining companies operating in PNG. The systems allows the MRA to collect live data from all mines and store it so that it can monitor and reconcile how much is extracted and exported.

‘This is to put to rest the perception that operators in the country are producing mineral resources and are taking them out of the country without us knowing what they are doing,’ reportedly said Jerry Garry, MRA’s Managing Director. (The National)

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Santos has achieved record numbers during Q1 2022. The company, said its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Gallagher, delivered record production, sales revenue, and free cash flow of US$865 million (K3 billion), an increase of 186 per cent compared to the same period last year. The numbers, according to Gallagher, reflect higher commodity prices, the company’s low-cost operating model and diverse portfolio. (Santos)

National

Brain Bell has opened a Home Centre in Mt Hagen. The new store offers a wide range of products including musical instruments, white goods and furniture. (The National)

Banks

The Market Concentration Levy or Additional Company Tax (ACT) has affected the financial results of BSP Financial Group for Q1 2022. Despite what seemed a strong Q1 performance, the company announced a net profit after tax of jusdt K69 million. Without the K190 million Market Concentration Levy, the bank claims the result would have been K259 million, an increase of K53 million compared with the same quarter last year. (BSP)

Photograph of the week

Credit: Beatus Kili/Linkedin

In this photograph we see the final beam for the Passenger Terminal Building at Nadzab Airport in Lae, Morobe Province. Beatus Kili, Project Manager of the Nadzab Airport Redevelopment Project, shared a post on Linkedin congratulating Oriental Consultants Global, Azusa Sekkei, Dai Nippon Construction Co. Ltd., Fletcher Construction and all sub-contractors and suppliers for achieving this milestone.