PNG’s bumpy road to high growth
AARON BATTEN Optimism continues to run high about PNG’s development prospects. The last eight years have seen sustained growth across the PNG economy – the first time since independence. It is also the first time that real per capita incomes have begun to increase after a 30 year period of stagnation. Formal sector employment across all industries is now at record levels. Much of this success is attributed to high international commodity prices which have fuelled rapid output and revenue growth. But the growth also reflects increasing output from a variety of sectors and has taken place across a number of regions. Success has not been siloed. Sustained growth has also continued throughout the global financial crisis and despite natural declines in output from maturing mining activities. The biggest cause of optimism in the PNG economy is the upcoming LNG gas project which comes online in 2014. At its peak, the project is expected to increase real GDP by 25 per cent. In 2010 revenues a