Prime Minister James Marape has directed Papua New Guinea’s economic agencies to move beyond managing government expenditure and focus on expanding revenue through agriculture, manufacturing, transport, retail and other non-resource industries.
Launching the Growth and Economic Reform National Coordinating Committee (GER-NCC) at Melanesian House, Mr Marape set a target for PNG to grow its economy from the current K140 billion to K200 billion by 2030, supported by a K50 billion national budget. He also outlined longer-term ambitions of a K300 billion economy by 2040 and K500 billion by 2050.
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| Pm Marape Sets K200 Billion Economy Target for PNG by 2030 |
“Everything else you hear today, if you forget, go away with these two numbers - K200 billion economy, K50 billion budget ... minimum starting point,” he said.
The Prime Minister said expanding the non-resource sector must become a central priority for the country’s economic leadership, arguing that everyday business activity could generate greater long-term wealth than relying heavily on major resource projects.
Treasury projections indicate that increasing real non-resource economic growth by just 0.1 percentage points annually could contribute an additional K709 billion to gross domestic product by 2050. In comparison, the combined lifetime economic contribution of seven planned major resource projects, including Papua LNG, Wafi-Golpu and Pasca, is projected at K189 billion by the same year.
Mr Marape said the need to accelerate economic development was reinforced by the 2024 national census, which found that 59 per cent of PNG’s population was under the age of 25.
“If these statistics don't ring an alarm bell in your head, you're running around as a leper in our country - numb and not feeling anything,” he said.
“A child at 25 today will be a father of three or four just 10 years from today. He must be employed to look after his children. Time flies, and we cannot waste time.”
He directed government departments to fast-track land mobilisation, improve infrastructure and align policies across agencies to encourage business expansion and create employment opportunities for the country’s growing population.
The GER-NCC has been established as a central coordination mechanism to accelerate reforms without creating another government department. It will be chaired by Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey and supported by an annual allocation of K10 million for a dedicated secretariat within the Department of Treasury.
The committee brings together chief executives from 22 government bodies, including the Bank of Papua New Guinea, the Internal Revenue Commission and the departments responsible for finance, agriculture and national planning. The Business Council of PNG and the PNG Chamber of Commerce and Industry will participate as formal observers.
Under the arrangement, the full committee will meet monthly, while technical working groups will convene weekly to address implementation issues.
A central reform matrix will be used to monitor agency performance, with delays and failures escalated through the relevant leadership structures. Progress reports will also be submitted to the National Executive Council every three months.