Partnership huge, says Marape

PRIME Minister James Marape says Papua New Guinea’s partnership with Dr Andrew Forrest and his company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) is bigger than just hydro in Purari River.
Marape in a statement said this partnership would encompass a huge set of projects worth billions of kina that needed to be appreciated and guarded by Papua New Guineans.
He said the Fortescue Metals Group – through its subsidiary FFI – was seriously moving into futuristic clean energy and its scope was broader than just the Purari River systems but covering also Kikori and Strickland systems, and the geothermal sites throughout Papua New Guinea beginning in West New Britain.
“I have met Dr Forrest on a number of occasions and his interest in green clean energy in PNG is sincere and serious,” he said.
“Through his futuristic green energy subsidiary company, FFI is looking at harvesting up to 25 gigawatts of power for clean energy to sell to the world from our country, including migrating some of FMG’s industries into PNG. These are huge projects worth billions of kina,” Marape said.
Marape said he was disappointed in misreporting by the other daily yesterday.
“This is a newspaper company with nearly 30 per cent of Papua New Guinean shareholding interest who continue to misreport, belittle and tarnish the work the Papua New Guinea government is doing no matter how big or small,” he said.
“For the journalist to always find negativity in innovation shows a shallow mind when the world is at this point moving into clean energy and new frontiers of technology. I am a prime minister who is very excited about taking our country into new frontiers and breaking barriers that others think we as a country cannot do.”
He said this included clean green energy, information and communication technology, digital and cyberspace, the down-streaming of PNG’s raw resources in gold, gas, timber, fisheries and agriculture.
“This direction is new and might seem impossible to some.
This direction will affect the comfort many are used to and may have enjoyed during the status quo, but I will not be deterred from this course.
“The world will move in this direction in as far as energy is concerned, and PNG is partnering FFI to pioneer this very source as part of our global response to climate change,” Marape said.
“If we do not join, we will be left behind when countries of the world move away from carbon-based energy solutions and into green energy.”