South Pacific International Container Terminal Ltd. (SPICT), operator and developer of the Port of Lae in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the ICTSI Foundation, corporate social responsibility arm of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), recently extended assistance to the Lae police force to further enhance peace and order in the community.
SPICT, ICTSI Foundation, and the Lae Metropolitan Police led groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of a new police station in the Malahang District of Lae in Morobe Province. At the same time, SPICT turned over two units patrol vehicles.
AHI Hope Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of AHI Investment Ltd. (AHL), will supervise the construction of the new police station. AHL, a community partner of ICTSI and SPICT at the Port of Lae, manages Riback Stevedores Ltd., a manning agency at the port.
“SPICT has been operating in Lae for only a month now. These donations are very significant. Lae is an industrialized city, and we talk about business but the stakeholders of the port community – port workers, employees in the shipping lines – are at risk of crimes. These are the people who live in Lae that need to be protected,” says George Gware, AHL chairman.
For his part, Mr. Edward Muttiah, SPICT CEO, assures the company’s commitment to the community. He says: “Law and order is a shared responsibility. These donations are our tokens of commitment to the people of Lae. We will be here for 25 years. Expect more from us as we move forward.”
John Rosso, Member of the National Parliament for Lae, made an appeal to the community to look after the donations. “These donations are hard to find. Please look after them. We should all take part in the development and improvement of the security situation in Lae.”
Jelta Wong, PNG Minister of Police, who flew in to Lae for the occasion, says: “I rarely see a private company do something like this. I’m very excited and happy that somebody has taken an initiative. Please use these resources wisely.”
The Malahang Community Police Station covers six communities in the Ahi Village, Morobe Province with an estimated population of 25,000.
Port authority PNG Ports Corp. Ltd., port operator SPICT, and partner communities in Lae, represented by AHL and Labu Holdings, launched a sustainable port program through an innovative public-private partnership (PPP) involving community stakeholders in the re-development, management and operations of the container terminal at the Port of Lae.
SPICT commits to invest in major equipment upgrades, leading edge port technology, and human resources development. Community stakeholders stand to benefit from these investments through employment, global standard training and benefits package, and career pathing and mentoring.
