by Delly Waigeno – EM TV News, Port Moresby
Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has expressed his government’s appreciation to Papua New Guinea for having investor confidence in his country.
He made this statement over the weekend at the opening of the new-look Pearl Pacific Hotel near Suva in Fiji.
The Pearl was acquired by the Mineral Development Authority Company in 2012 and has since undergone expansion.
Just two weeks after MRDC launched the country’s biggest project, the Star Mountain Plaza, MRDC and its subsidiary companies marked another milestone project, this time in Fiji with the K107 million Pearl South Pacific Resort.
Bainimarama, officiated at the event held on Saturday. He welcomed the PNG delegation, which included government ministers, Provincial governors of the landowner provinces, senior executives of MRDC and landowners and shareholders from the Southern Highlands, Western and Gulf Provinces.
He acknowledged the confidence of MRDC and the landowners in investing in Fiji. He added that the tourism sector in Fiji has grown over 9% compared to this time last year and Fiji intends to capitalise on this growing global interest in Fiji as a holiday destination.
The Pearl Pacific Resort is located on Pearl Harbour, 42km from the capital, Suva. The resort was expanded from having 78 guest rooms to an additional 132 rooms.
The project was completed two months ahead of schedule, and under budget.
The shareholders of the resort are the landowner groups, Petroleum Resource Kutubu, Mineral Resources Star Mountains, and Mineral Resources Ok Tedi No.2 in partnership with the State.
With Fiji a popular tourist destination in the Pacific, the resort is expected to cater for the industry demands and meet the desired returns for the PNG landowner trustee company.
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