Lae and Motukea International seaports in the country have been placed in the top 50% of ports in the Oceania Region through their operational performance, according to a report.
Motukea and Lae outperformed the ports of Melbourne, Brisbane, Port Botany, Adelaide and Fremantle in Australia, and New Zealand’s Otago Harbour, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland and
Lyttelton.
CEO of PNG Ports, Neil Papenfus, welcomed the report, saying he was impressed with the
ranking gained by Motukea and Lae, which were compared against the busiest and more
modernized ports in the world.
He said, this was the result of the ongoing investments towards greater efficiency at the two ports, in partnership with ICTSI over the last 7 years. Full reading: https://www.thepngsun.com/graduate-development-program-for-png-ports-a-success/
In a report by the World Bank that the Container Port Performance Index 2023: “A Comparative Assessment of Performance based on Vessel Time in Port,” they were among the world’s 405 international ports compared.
Both ports are owned and managed by PNG Ports Corporation Limited (PNG Ports) and operated by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) under a 25-year contractual agreement which began in 2017.
These container ports are critical to the global supply chains and essential to the growth strategies of any emerging economy, and Motukea and Lae ranked 289 and 326 respectively in the comparison.
The Report compared the total container ship time in port which is directly influenced by the quality or cranes deployed, and the speed at which the cranes operate.
According to the Report, high-quality container port infrastructure operating efficiently has been a prerequisite for successful export-led growth strategies, and countries that follow such a strategy will have higher levels of economic growth than those that do not.
The aim of the Report was to pinpoint areas that needed improving at container ports because the negative effect of poor performance in a port affects the global supply chain.
Container shipping services follow a fixed schedule with specific berth windows at each port of call on the route, therefore, port performance at one port could disrupt the entire schedule.
This, in turn, increases the cost of imports and exports, reduces the competitiveness of the
country and its neighboring countries and hinder economic growth and poverty reduction.
The agreement with ICTSI was aligned closely with the country’s estimated continued
development and growth in the international trade.
ICTSI introduced ship to shore cranes which began operating in Lae last year, boosting efficiency and reducing turnaround times for vessels.
Electronic data interchange and reports, including invoicing and payments, are also being
carried out electronically and in real time, compared to the traditional days of manually invoicing clients seven years ago.
Mr. Papenfus said in a media statement that PNG Ports, with government support, will continuously develop the ports, guided by the 30 Year Port Master Plan, with investment into the pilotage sector.
“Our partnership with ICTSI will further boost plans to maximize the potential of both ports. Improvements to security have also been done,” he said.
However, PNG Ports also owns 13 other ports in Daru, Oro Bay, Alotau, Rabaul, Kimbe, Lorengau, Kavieng, Wewak, Vanimo, Aitape, Madang, Buka and Kieta.
These ports are operated as part of the company’s community service obligation.