Economy

Buoyed by high commodity export revenues and, since 2009 the development of the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas project, GDP growth has remained above 6% since 2007, reaching 8.9% in 2011 and 8.1% in 2012. A heavyweight among the Pacific Island states, PNG, together with Fiji, accounted for 80% of regional GDP in 2013, as per UN figures. Agriculture, fisheries and forestry made up the largest part of the economy at 29% in 2012, while the construction sector accounted for 20% of GDP and the mining, oil and extractive industries were responsible for 15%. For investors, any project worth more than $50m could qualify for a public-private partnership (PPP) structure; however, the government has been emphasising the potential for PPPs in the power generation and transport sectors. While attracting private investment will depend on the successful implementation of public sector reforms, the authorities will need to strike a balance between encouraging investment and the need to protect domestic enterprise. This chapter contains interviews with James Marape, Minister of Finance; Charles Abel, Minister for National Planning; Wasantha Kumarasiri, Managing Director, Independent Public Business Corporation; and Geoff Cundle, Managing Director, Steamships Trading Company.