Prime Minister James Marape has invited the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), the developer of the Ramu Nickel/Cobalt project in Madang Province, to seriously look at partnering the National Government in its downstream processing efforts. MCC has responded that it would give serious consideration in its expansion plans for PNG.
Prime Minister Marape, in his meeting yesterday with the MCC Board Chairman Mr. Chen Jiangguang, made the invitation while urging the company to expand into downstream processing because Ramu Nickel/Cobalt Project was a very big project.
The Prime Minister also invited the MCC to move into other resource sectors, including Clean Energy.
PM Marape informed the Chairman that Papua New Guinea already has good government-to-government and people-to-people relationships with China hence their expansion investment in Papua New Guinea would be supported by the government, especially in the government’s downstream processing efforts.
Prime Minister also thanked MCC for being the first one to come on board as a platinum sponsor of the inaugural PNG – Asia Investment Conference, and invited the chairman to visit PNG to see for himself the environment in which Ramu Nickel operates.
Mr. Chen Jiangguang thanked Prime Minister Marape for the government’s continued support of the project, saying their success would not have been possible without the support of the government.
He informed Prime Minister Marape that the MCC Ramu Nickel/Cobalt Project contributes to two-thirds of MCC’s revenue and is their biggest investment outside of China.
Therefore, he said, the MCC would seriously look at downstream processing in their expansion plans for investment in PNG.
Mr. Chen also assured Prime Minister Marape that MCC would contribute to the development of Papua New Guinea by creating more jobs for Papua New Guineans and would also look at other sectors of investment.
