Fly in, fly out practice supported

THE fly-in-fly-out (Fifo) arrangement for mining and petroleum projects allows economic benefits to be spread across the country, according to the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum.
This was one of several reasons given in a statement to The National from the chamber in response to concerns raised by the PNG Resource Owners’ Federation last week.
The federation’s concerns were based on how project areas were losing out on economic benefits due to this and called on the government to put a stop to it.
“Papua New Guineans make up around 95 per cent of the workforce in mature mining and petroleum operations in PNG,” the chamber said.
“They are employed from the preferred area local communities and the host province, as well as from other parts of PNG.
“This Fifo employment model for the resource industry provides the best balance of shared benefits to communities right across PNG.
“Many of the employees from other parts of the country prefer to live in their own homes, than to take their families to mostly remote and isolated areas where the operations are located.
“Fifo allows these employees to return regularly to their families, which spreads the economic benefits to these parts of the country instead of being concentrated in one area.”
The chamber said Fifo delivered skills-transfer opportunities, drove domestic industry through air links and helped provide a boost to local suppliers, contractors and goods-and-services trade throughout the country.
“Additionally, Fifo helps ensure the resource project does not become a social or environmental burden on the host population,” it said.
“The significant cost of building townships to sustain and support families onsite can be an immense strain on a community, and is not sustainable in the long term after the project closure.
“The Chamber of Mines and Petroleum said host communities of resource developments already enjoy considerable socio-economic opportunities not available to other communities in the country.”