Milne Bay on target to receive cruise ship

 MILNE Bay Governor Titus Philemon is pleased with the preparations to host the first cruise ship from Carnival Australia in November.

Philemon thanked PNG Ports Corporation for extending Alotau Port with the construction of new berthing, land mooring and decking facilities to the existing structure.  

The project costs K40 million.  

It will add 290m of berthing space, making it the largets port of call in the country for cruise ships.

The rebuilding of the Alotau Port infrastructure complements the hydrographical survey conducted by Carnival Australia with funding from Ports PNG of the sea bed around the Trobriand Islands. 

Navigational charts will be produced to guide cruise ships to move safely in and out of islands. 

The provincial government has allocated K100,000 for workshops and training of local operators and tour guides to be undertaken by the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority and the Milne Bay Tourism Bureau.

The first of the Carnival Australia cruise ships, Pacific Dawn, will arrive in Alotau on Nov 4 with about 2,000 tourists.

The Kenu and Kundu Festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year will be extended for a day from Nov 1 to 4.

“I want to thank the national government and the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority for recognising the potential that Milne Bay has in tourism development.” 

“I want to assure everyone that the people and the government of Milne Bay will play our part to ensure the cruise ship visits are successful. 

“We have a lot of activities going on that will support the cruise tourism programme, including the Samarai Restoration project,” Philemon said.