Dept: Revenue to boost welfare

 A government department says doubling of mineral exports between 2010 and 2030 will increase Papua New Guinea’s national economic welfare by K1.9 billion by 2030.

The Department of National Planning and Monitoring said in its 10-year plan that it would include an extra K790 million in tax revenues.

The PNG Strategic Plan 2010-2030 stated that was a substantial increment in tax revenues.

The plan outlined following strategies that were proposed to achieve these gains:

• Strengthen capacity of state institutions to administer and enforce mining regulations;
• facilitate further exploration by simplifying and speeding up regulatory procedures; 
• develop and review appropriate mechanisms to address landowner’s participation and industry issues. These issues are best resolved before the private sector becomes involved to reduce the costs of investment and thereby attract more investors to PNG; and, 
• Pursue strategies under manufacturing and small and medium enterprises that encourage downstream processing industries for smelting of minerals on shore, among others.

Meanwhile, K2.2 billion was government’s revenue from minerals projects in 2007. 

The plan indicated the government’s targeted revenue to be K3 billion a year from the minerals projects, by 2030.