White elephant seen in Papua New Guinea: it’s the Apec summit

While Port Moresby splashes resources on Maseratis to ferry around Xi and Trump, critics say teachers haven’t been paid.

And there’s another price to pay: figuring out where the country stands on China-US rivalry

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The main convention centre that will host the event was built by a Chinese contractor with a Beijing grant, while six-lane boulevards leading up to it were constructed with cheap Chinese financing. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:30pm, 27 Oct 2018Updated: 11:56am, 12 Nov 2018

With weeks to go before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Papua New Guinea, the Pacific nation is putting the final touches on its preparations to host the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Vice-President Mike Pence.

World leaders had contended that holding the summit on November 18 in the country’s capital city Port Moresby – with the help of extensive grants – would enable one of Asia’s least developed nations to bask in the international limelight as it seeks foreign direct investment.

It is the first time the former Australian colony has hosted the event – and with Xi attending and expected to host a meeting on the sidelines with leaders of Beijing-friendly Pacific nations, all eyes have been on whether Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government would be able to pull off the event without a hitch.

The interior of the International Convention Centre, which was built by a Chinese contractor with a Beijing grant. Photo: AFP

While for the most part it has, the bad press it attracted this week was clearly not part of the plan.

On Friday, public anger at the government’s management of funds meant for the summit escalated dramatically, as tens of thousands of government workers staged a one-day strike. Their main gripe? Port Moresby’s decision to buy 40 luxury Maserati cars, valued at around US$300,000 each, and later three Bentleys, to ferry around the likes of Xi and Pence – who will be deputising for President Donald Trump.

The government said the cars were justified and would be sold after the summit. But critics have scoffed. They say the country is wasting precious resources as it rebuilds after a devastating earthquake in February and an ongoing polio outbreak.

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