The Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) is set to open its Kutubu Heritage Hotel in November, marking a major step towards developing tourism and creating sustainable economic opportunities for landowners and local communities in Southern Highlands Province.
The hotel will provide a gateway for local and international tourists to explore some of Papua New Guinea’s most spectacular natural attractions, including Mount Bosavi, Lake Kutubu and Beaver Falls.
MRDC Managing Director Augustine Mano described Mount Bosavi as “Papua New Guinea’s Jurassic Park”, highlighting its unique biodiversity and potential to attract international visitors.
Mount Bosavi, an extinct volcano with a crater approximately four kilometres wide and one kilometre deep, is home to an isolated rainforest containing rare wildlife species.
A scientific expedition in 2009 involving the BBC, Smithsonian Institution and Papua New Guinean researchers discovered several species previously unknown to science, including the Bosavi woolly rat, regarded as the world’s largest rat.
The new hotel will also provide tourists with access to Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea’s second-largest lake, which is home to unique fish species found nowhere else in the world.
Another major attraction is Beaver Falls, also known as Wasi Falls, one of the country’s spectacular natural waterfalls.
Together, these attractions are expected to position Kutubu as an important nature and cultural tourism destination in Southern Highlands Province.
The hotel development is supported by improved air connectivity following the introduction of regular PNG Air passenger services into Moro in August this year.
PNG Air currently operates flights from Port Moresby and Mount Hagen to Moro every Monday and Thursday, restoring regular passenger services to the area after six years.
The route is serviced by an ATR 42-600 aircraft known as Mangi Kutubu, owned by MRDC subsidiary Petroleum Resources Kutubu and leased to PNG Air.
The aircraft is the first purchased by Papua New Guinean landowners and leased to a major national airline.
MRDC says its investment in the aircraft, its shareholding in PNG Air and the Kutubu Heritage Hotel forms part of a broader strategy to ensure tourism revenue directly benefits resource landowners and surrounding communities.
The initiative is also aimed at diversifying economic opportunities beyond the mining, oil and gas industries while creating long-term sustainable wealth for future generations.
Mr Mano emphasised that environmental conservation must remain central to tourism development, particularly in areas containing rare and endangered wildlife.
“Once a species becomes extinct, it cannot be brought back,” Mr Mano said.
“We are investing ahead of established tourism demand, and that carries commercial risk. But we believe the long-term economic value justifies taking that risk.”
The Kutubu Heritage Hotel is expected to strengthen tourism infrastructure in Southern Highlands Province while opening new opportunities for local businesses, employment and community participation in the tourism industry.
The development represents MRDC’s commitment to transforming resource wealth into sustainable investments that will continue benefiting landowners and local communities long after petroleum and mining operations cease.