Terence Kapipi Yacop
UPNG Journalism Student
Speaking during the opening day (Monday, 28th August, 2023) of the PNG Community Affairs and National Content Conference and Exposition (CANCONEX) at the University of Technology, Minerals Resources Development Company (MRDC) Managing Director Augustine Mano attributed collaboration and partnerships as the key to harnessing and maximizing benefits of new upcoming mining, oil and petroleum projects in the country.
While Officially opening the 3 days’ event Mano gave credited the PNG Chambers of Mining and Petroleum and their President Anthony Smare for initiating the CANCONEX Conference which he said was the best platform to share experiences that key stakeholders have in the mining, petroleum and the gas industries and for plotting the best way forward.
The MRDC Managing Director stressed on the importance of creating opportunities through partnerships in order to capture the opportunities that are coming. He said that “the reason MRDC has grown its assets over the last 15 years to over K7 Billion is simple, it is the collaboration between all our subsidiaries and by putting in an incredible management system.”
“It’s no magic, it is the collaboration and partnership between each of the 21 subsidiaries that MRDC manages. We support each other and grow together.
“For example, raising K1.4 Billion for the Star Mountain Project (Hilton Hotel) or the K380 Million Dirio Power Projects was not easy task but it was inspired by a combination of companies who share the risks.
Collaboration is the only way so that we can have the capacity to effectively harness and capture these opportunities in the mining and petroleum industries,” Mano told the audience at the Duncan Hall.
The best way forward he says is partner with all the relevant stakeholders including provincial governments and developers to make amends and not repeat same mistakes again.
Mano also challenged the Landowners and all other relevant stakeholders to position themselves strategically and prepare for the next wave of projects so that they not be left out again.
“Are we ready to take on the next wave? Do we have the capacity? Are we meeting all the skill requirement? At least now we have time that’s the advantage we have. I am not talking about the traditional scope of business that we do in security and catering. There is more scope of participation, we need to look outside of that.”
Mano said that many opportunities were missed to bring impact projects to impacted project areas when Kutubu, Gobe, OK Tedi and other projects first came online leaving the landowners behind lacking in vital services and empowerment opportunities and this must not happen again.
“The next 10 years a big wave of opportunities is coming through projects like the Wafi Gofi, Penyang, Papua LNG and others that total up to US$30 Billion (K90 Billion). This is a second chance which in the next 3 days (of the CANCONEX conference) all these stakeholders present here can find the best ways forward in harnessing opportunities for the next ten years,” said Mr. Mano.
Taking from Prime Minister’s speech in speech in Sydney during the last Mining Conference, where he said that “we must never leave my landowners behind but to take them with him in this journey,” Mano said that MRDC is trying to activate that call and live through this journey on those big projects that are coming.
MRDC is the Principal Sponsor of the inaugural CANCONEX Conference here at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology.
