‘First past the post’ voting system to return, expansion of Milne Bay airport, and rugby league now a K15m a year business. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

Papua New Guinea will revert to the old ‘first past the post’ voting system, which Parliament is likely to introduce in the April sitting. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told the 6th Leadership Summit that among other electoral reforms will be changes to electoral boundaries, and the creation of new provinces.

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Gurney Airport Terminal. Credit: Claudio Labeli

The National Airports Corporation has signed a K60.6 million contract with Chinese company Sinohydro, which will expand Gurney Airport facilities in the Milne Bay Province. The expansion includes a new terminal, plus extension of the runway by another 200 metres that will enable a Fokker 70 aircraft to land. The project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank and the PNG Government.

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Rugby league as a business is worth an estimated K15 million, according to SP PNG Hunters’ Chairman, Graham Osborne. He said current cost estimates for the SP PNG Hunters team puts it just over K5 million to run the team.

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Perth-based RTG Mining has raised approximately US$34 million (K110 million) ‘to help secure a role as the development partner with the landowner consortium’ led by the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowners Association, at the Panguna Mine in Bougainville. CEO Justine Magee said the money raised would also be used in an arbitration process to confirm its role at the Mabilo mining project in the Philippines.

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Housing and Urbanisation Minister, John Kaupa, reportedly says the Gordons and Six Mile Markets at Port Moresby will be upgraded at a combined cost of K50 million. During the upgrade, a K3 million temporary market at Erima market will be built to cater for vendors.

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The merger of Water PNG and Eda Ranu and transfer of assets will be carried out by the third quarter of 2018, according to Public Enterprises Minister, William Duma.

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Products made by the shruder using marine plastic waste. Credit: ABC

Louise Hardman, the inventor of a machine which shreds and extrudes marine plastic into usable items such as filament wire for computers and grass cutter cords, says she wants to build 100,000 for use throughout the Asia-Pacific. Hardman, inventor of the Shruder, says the waste plastic could be turned into cord for weaving mats and baskets. In Vanuatu, there is interest in flat filament because traditional weaving there is done with flat pandanus leaves.

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The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund posted one of its biggest returns ever last year as it was boosted by booming equity markets. Norway’s US$1.1 trillion (K3.5 trillion) oil fund returned 13.7 per cent, or US$131 billion (K423 billion).

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Photograph of the week:

At 2.30am on 28 Feb, 2018, another earthquake struck at Tari hospital, Hela Province, cutting power. Medical staff continued their caesarean operation using mobile phone lights to complete the operation. Credit: Tana Kiak via Facebook. Got a great photo? Send it to editor@businessadvantageinternational.com