Prime Minister, James Marape has conveyed his sincere apologies to the people of Western Highlands Province and Governor Hon. Wai Rapa for not being able to attend the commissioning of the Highlands 132kV Transmission Line in Mt Hagen yesterday due to unavoidable travel issues.
The Prime Minister had earlier been scheduled to commission the project at the Keltiga Substation in Mt Hagen, with the ceremony hosted by PNG Power Limited, Kumul Consolidated Holdings, and the Ministry for State Enterprises.
Related news: https://www.nbc.com.pg/post/33244/highlands-power-backbone-commissioned
“I sincerely apologies to Governor Wai Rapa and the people of Western Highlands for not being able to be present at this important milestone. I was very much looking forward to joining you in Mt Hagen and I look forward to visiting Western Highlands at another time,” Prime Minister Marape said in a statement.
Prime Minister Marape commended Minister for State Enterprises Hon. William Duma for his leadership in delivering the Highlands 132kV Transmission Line, describing it as a major national infrastructure achievement.
“This is a significant upgrade of our national power infrastructure, moving from the historic 66kV system to a modern 132kV high-voltage backbone capable of carrying larger volumes of electricity across the Highlands region,” he said.
The Highlands 132kV Transmission Line forms part of a major national grid investment that began in 2021 and has progressed through several phases before reaching commissioning in 2026.
The transmission corridor runs approximately 189 kilometers from Mt Hagen to Tari, supported by around 448 transmission towers across challenging Highlands terrain, and includes the construction and upgrading of key substations at Keltiga, Kaupena/Pauanda, Mendi (Tindimi), and Tari (Wabia).
The project also includes a Tari–Hides extension of approximately 40 kilometers, enabling integration of gas-powered electricity generation from the Hides area into the Highlands electricity grid.
Overall investment in the Highlands grid backbone exceeds K1 billion, supported by concessional financing from the Export–Import Bank of China alongside counterpart funding from the Government of Papua New Guinea.
Prime Minister Marape said the transmission corridor would benefit communities and businesses across the Highlands and Momase regions.
“This power backbone now links the Highlands grid with generation sources at both ends — from Hides in Hela Province through the Highlands to Yonki and onward to Lae in Morobe Province,” he said.
“Along this corridor lie major population centers including Magarima, Nipa, Koroba, Komo, Tari, Mendi, Ialibu, Mt Hagen, Minj, Banz, Kundiawa, Kerowagi, Chuave, Gumine, Gembogl, Asaro, Lufa, Unggai-Bena, Okapa and Kainantu.
“This corridor alone serves close to five million people — nearly half of our country’s population.”
Prime Minister Marape said the next phase of the project would focus on expanding distribution networks to towns and rural communities along the corridor, ensuring electricity reaches homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.
“This investment lays the foundation for expanding electricity access to 50–60 percent of our country’s population as we continue building distribution lines across the Highlands.”
The Prime Minister said the Highlands grid upgrade forms part of a broader national effort to strengthen Papua New Guinea’s electricity generation and transmission network.
“This programme began around 2021 as part of our broader national effort to build a stronger and more integrated electricity network across the country,” Prime Minister Marape said.
“In the next phase we will look at extending the power grid to new economic corridors and coastal districts, including areas such as Sialum, Finschhafen and Rai Coast, and eventually linking into key resource and development areas.
“At the same time, we are planning crossover links from the Wau–Bulolo area that will eventually connect with the Connect PNG Highway corridor opening towards Kerema and linking back into the Port Moresby grid.
“When these developments are completed, our vision is to progressively move towards a more unified national electricity grid.”
Prime Minister Marape emphasized that these power transmission corridors would also support modern communications infrastructure.
“These transmission corridors will not only carry electricity but will also support fiber-optic connectivity, ensuring that as we expand power infrastructure, we also improve digital connectivity across the country,” he said.
“This is critical backbone infrastructure for Papua New Guinea as we build the foundations for long-term economic growth.”
The Prime Minister acknowledged the support of the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Ramu Transmission System Reinforcement Project valued at over K200 million, which strengthens the critical Yonki–Lae transmission line supplying electricity to Morobe Province and the country’s industrial hub.
Prime Minister Marape also highlighted the Government’s direct investment in strengthening electricity supply in other parts of the country.
“We have invested K120 million in upgrading the 132kV transmission line connecting the 54-megawatt Edevu Hydropower Project in Central Province to the Port Moresby grid, significantly improving power reliability for the National Capital District.”
He added that the Government is also working with ExxonMobil and LNG partners to step up electricity generation capacity at the Hides LNG project area, which will further strengthen supply into the Highlands grid.
“Electricity is an essential ingredient for economic growth. It supports industry, small businesses, services and improves the lives of our people.”
Prime Minister Marape said the Government’s long-term development strategy is to integrate electricity transmission alongside major transport infrastructure.
“As we build roads under the Connect PNG Programme, we will also overlay power transmission lines and fiber-optic connectivity along those corridors so that our core economic infrastructure grows together.”
He said future power links would extend from Lae through the Ramu corridor to Madang and eventually to Bogia and Wewak, while other corridors would expand across the country as part of the Government’s long-term infrastructure plan.
Prime Minister Marape said the project contributes to the Government’s broader national goal of achieving 70 percent household electricity access by 2030.
He also acknowledged the cooperation of landowners, provincial governments, development partners, and engineering contractor TBEA in delivering the infrastructure project.
“Major infrastructure projects such as this require strong partnership and cooperation. I thank our landowners, provincial leaders, development partners and project teams who have worked over many years to bring this project to completion.”
Prime Minister Marape again congratulated Minister William Duma, PNG Power Limited, Kumul Consolidated Holdings and development partners for delivering the important national infrastructure milestone.