K23.6m integrated waste management center to be built in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea will soon have a brand new and first Resource Recovery Centre in the country, to be built at Roku, on the outskirts of Port Moresby.

Australian High Commissioner to PNG, Ewen McDonald in a statement says that this project will become PNG's first fully integrated waste management facility.

He says that this facility will close the loop on its waste management system, with a focus on prioritizing the re-use, repurposing and recycling of waste, as well as reserving safe disposal as a last resort.

High Commissioner Ewen McDonald says that the facility once operational, will have the capacity to transform up to 40 thousand tonnes of waste annually, into economic opportunity and usable materials, including construction and demolition of debris, plastic and other recyclables.

He also adds that this facility is expected to divert 70 to 80 percent of this waste from landfill, to produce over 7,000 tonnes of recycled materials each year, for reuse in infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing, while at the same time, creating more than 20 green jobs, which will employ women, young people and people with disabilities.

Mr. McDonald also said that the centre will also support green entrepreneurship and community participation through initiatives such as cash for scrap, and local waste collection services.

The project valued at 10 million Australian Dollars, or about K23.6 million, will be delivered on a 50/50 cost sharing basis, between the Australian Government and the Total Waste Management [TWM] Group, through the PNG-Australia Partnership.

The ground breaking ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, National Planning Deputy Secretary Michael Kumung and TWM Group Managing Director Kori Chan.

Meanwhile, the country's Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso, says that this centre is a clear demonstration of what can be done when the government, private sector and international partners come together in a genuine collaboration. Mr. Rosso says that when they undertake the ground breaking ceremony, they should also develop a new mindset about waste as well as development, and the role each and everyone of them can play in shaping a stronger, smarter and more sustainable PNG.

This milestone project is part of the fifth phase of the Incentive Fund 2023 to 2031, a flagship PNG-Australia Partnership initiative, that provides competitive grants for small-scale infrastructure valued between 3 to 15 million kina.

The Incentive Fund is governed by a Board of five prominent Papua New Guinean directors, alongside the Secretary of the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, and the Minister Counsellor for Economics, Health and Infrastructure of the Australian High Commission.