PNG COffee Export Office Complex to be completed by September
The new Papua New Guinea coffee exports office complex currently being constructed in Lae, Morobe Province is expected to be completed in September 2022.
This was announced during a meeting between the Coffee Industry Corporation Ltd (CICL) and representatives from the departments of National Planning and Monitoring and Treasury on Monday, 22 August, 2022.
CICL Chief Operations Officer Steven Tumae and his team met with the government department delegation this week in Lae to update them on the progress of construction and also to visit the construction site to see how the actual work was progressing.
Tumae said preliminary work on submissions and securing funding on the new office complex started in 2014. However, actual approval by the Governor General to have the advert out for bidding was done in 2018. Thereafter, things have progressed to where they are now.
The contract awarded to Haom Builders in 2020 was fully funded by the National Government at the cost of K10.6 million.
Tumae said the office plays a very important role in ensuring quality coffee is graded and certified before being exported out of the country. He said the new building once completed would effectively and efficiently facilitate coffee exports, quality control and compliance work.
“The new export office once completed will see a three-storey building with coffee laboratory, export office, quality control and compliance office, conference and meeting facility, library, and other office spaces for our partners. Quality is the mainstay of the industry. We are giving the contractor another month to complete the building, although a lot of issues have been slowing down work. We anticipate commissioning the new building next month (September).”
CICL Acting Manager for Regulations & Compliance Program, Johnem Pusa, said his program is responsible for certification of coffee, licensing and inspection, quality control and exports. “Quality Control is the platform where farmers’ coffee and importers’ money exchange. That’s why we have our team here that checks all coffee going out against the revised green bean standards. When this is not met, the coffee is either rejected or downgraded. Exporters must meet the price. From our end we have to make sure that price posted by New York coffee market must be translated to farmers. We enforce all the policy guidelines and ensure they are met.”
Deputy Secretary for the Department of Treasury, Napa Hurim, said the same solutions cannot be applied to every problems in the coffee industry. “We have to look at more efficient methods for rehabilitation, do it in a more coordinated and efficient way. The days for sitting around and being lazy and complacent is gone. Today is the day we rise up and do something about the changes we want. Do partnership in a new way, do it like you have never done it before.”
Hurim commended the efforts of the Lae coffee exports team who work tirelessly to ensure only quality coffee leave our shores for export.
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