PNG enjoys 12yrs of economic growth

NEXT year will be the 12 consecutive year of economic growth in Papua New Guinea, making it the longest uninterrupted period of sustained growth during the country’s 36 years of independence.
The economy is expected to grow by 7.8%, slightly lower than the anticipated 8.9% growth this year.
“Our growth rate remains nearly double the international average,” Finance and Treasury Minister Don Polye said yesterday.
The growth is driven by construction activi­ty on the PNG liquefied natural gas project which in turn is expected to boost other sectors such as construction, transportation and communication.
The growth is lower in 2012 as project construction in the PNG LNG will have passed its peak le­vel. All non-mining areas are expected to continue expanding next year at about 7.4%.
Mining and quarrying is expected to grow by 20.2% attributable to the return to normal production at major mines after disruptions to production in 2011.
This includes the expected start-up of Ramu Nickel plus strong production expected at Ok Tedi, Porgera and Lihir.
Polye said strong GDP growth was good but “we cannot eat GDP”.
“Simply growing GDP does not improve the welfare of our people,” he said.
“We must ensure that our high levels of growth, including our massive growth in government revenue over the last three years of more than 58% contributes to allowing our people to participate in economic development.