The Paga Hill Estate site is underway, with aims to attract cruise traffic and change how people experience Port Moresby. Gudmundur Fridriksson, Chairman of Paga Hill Development Company, outlines the plans to make waves in Papua New Guinea’s tourism sector.

Artist’s rendition of the Paga Hill Estate development. Credit: Paga Hill Development Company

The revival of the cruising market post-Covid has been a resounding success, with the Cruise Lines International Association reporting that passenger numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

Some 32 million people took a cruise last year, but most of them sailed right past Papua New Guinea.

“Before Covid, we had 350 cruise ships pass PNG by,” Gudmundur Fridriksson, Chairman, Paga Hill Development Company (PHDC) told the recent 2024 Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference.

“For the traveller to experience PNG in a hotel like this, in a location like Paga Hill, will be a game changer for PNG.”

“We have been talking with Carnival Australia and other cruise lines. They say: if you can get just the basic services right – get good hotels and upgrade the cruise port and create maybe six attractions – they will bring 80 ships in the first year. That will represent about 250,000 tourists. We receive about 12,000 tourists annually as it is now.”

Watch the full speech outlining the Paga Hill Development here.

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Paga Hill is a 25-hectare site bordering Port Moresby’s central business district which aims to become an access point for cruise ships and open up the city’s foreshore for tourism development.

PHDC has spent 18 months stockpiling K35 million worth of materials. It is now ready to start development in the second quarter of 2025, if the government comes to the table with some co-funding. The development plans 13,000 square kilometres of open space and 600,000 sq. km of built development, and the cherry on top will be a brand-new Raddison Blu resort.

PNG’s first true leisure hotel

Lachlan Hoswell, Radisson Hotel Group’s Managing Director, Business Unit – Australasia, told the Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference that the new hotel will be the “first true leisure hotel to come into Port Moresby”.

Gudmundur Fridriksson, Chairman, Paga Hill Development Company speaking to the Business Advantage PNG Investment Conference. Credit: BAI

“Radisson has 1.3 million rooms worldwide and over 160 million loyalty members. The Radisson Collection, which is our luxury brand, will be a fantastic fit for this particular property,” Hoswell said.

“There will be no better spot to sit around a pool sharing a cocktail and drinks with your friends. For the traveller to experience PNG in a hotel like this, in a location like Paga Hill, will be a game changer for PNG.”

The first stage is a satellite casino that will begin construction very soon but there are plans are for a 1.5-kilometre boardwalk similar to Sydney’s Barangaroo but “wider and more beautiful,” according to Fridriksson.

The Radisson hotel precinct will offer 229 rooms, 100 serviced apartments and 24 villas, all managed by Radisson.

The project is also considered a special economic zone with a tourism focus and this zoning has worked well so far.

“We have now completed a one-stop shop where the tax office, Customs, Immigration and the Investment Promotion Authority all will be located onsite. So, when we bring something in, we open the container and they fast-track things,” says Fridriksson.

He is confident that the project will not only attract cruise traffic but also change how people experience PNG’s capital.

“Paga Hill is for all, it is for the people that live in Port Moresby, the people who are from there, the people who come for a visit and the people who work there,” he said.