Venues upkeep costs State K12m annually

By ISAAC LIRI
HAVING world-class sporting facilities in Papua New Guinea has introduced a new challenge for the Government through the Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation, who has the job of managing the multi-million kina facilities.
Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko testified of the challenge being new and the State was considering options to deal with the management and upkeep of the venues —the Sir John Guise sporting complex, Taurama Aquatic Centre, Rita Flynn Complex and the Bisini Sports Precinct, including Amini Park and Bava Park — in Port Moresby.
He referred to the temporary closure of the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre and the Rita Flynn Complex as a minor setback that arose due a range of reasons mostly to do with funding.
“Some were closed for maintenance, some were due to service bills having to be paid and negotiation with service providers to ensure they understand the cash flow situation for the PNG Sports Foundation,” Tkatchenko said.
Despite the hindrance, Tkatchenko said the facilities would be open by next week to serve the public, athletes, the sporting federations and other stakeholders.
“All the facilities will be open for use and we’re working with service providers to ensure that payments are made,” he said.
“The public must understand that these facilities cost money to maintain and look after such as power, water, staffing and management.
“When we charge people to use our facilities; it is not because we want to, but because we have to. We have to pay for all the utilities so they can operate for the benefit of all.”
In terms of dealing with the challenge, Tkatchenko said there were options of looking at outsourcing management for certain facilities to be run, with support from the corporate sector, but that was still in negotiation.
“One way we can raise money is branding by our facilities, for instance, we can call the Taurama Aquatic Centre The BSP Aquatic Centre for that sponsor to then pay for the branding and that money goes to off-setting costs.
“We have to be business-minded and know how to market our facilities and use branding to make money.
“We will be going approaching sponsors to look at the stadiums and we estimate we can raise a significant amount which will definitely help subsidise running costs,” Tkatchenko said.  He told The National that a survey had been done by an firm sponsored by the Australian government and their findings showed that the management of the venues cost the State K12 million on an annual basis.
He said the State had committed to pay a large part of the operating cost through its sports arm, the PNG Sports Foundation, but they were also looking at sourcing revenue from other areas to cover the shortfall.