China Eximbank signs MoU for $330 million loan for Papua New Guinea-China Integrated Agriculture Park

Project narrative

On November 20, 2017, China Eximbank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a $330 million loan for the construction of the Papua New Guinea-China Integrated Agriculture Park Project. The project will see the construction of two duty-free integrated agriculture industrial parks in Eastern Highlands (150 hectares) and Western Highlands (130ha). PNG government consultations with the governments of Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands, the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, and the developer, China Railway International, commenced in January 2018. A local land transfer agreement to China Railway International to develop the two industrial parks has been signed. After this step is completed, the project will move onto a feasibility study and then construction. In June 2020, the project was put on hold, as the Department of Agriculture was not properly informed of the land transfer. No official financing agreement has been signed.