The Pacific Games Council President, Mr Vidhya Lakhan, and Executive Director, Mr Andrew Minogue, visited Port Moresby from Monday 25 February until Friday 1 March in order to assess the state of preparations for the 2015 Pacific Games.
This visit was timed as a follow-up to the visit of the full Executive Board of the Pacific Games Council last May, and to provide the Council with an early opportunity to meet the new Minister for Sport and the 2015 Pacific Games, the Hon. Justin Tkatchenko MP.
During the past week, President Lakhan and Mr Minogue engaged in the following official activities:
- Attended a meeting with the Minister for Sport and the 2015 Pacific Games, the Justin Tkatchenko MP (pictured at right);
- Attended a meeting of the 2015 Pacific Games Authority (of which President Lakhan is a member), under the chairmanship of Mr Kostas Constantinou;
- Attended a meeting of the 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee (of which Mr Minogue is a member);
- Attended a meeting with the Executive Board of the Papua New Guinea Pacific Games Association, led by Sir John Dawanincura; which is the organisation in whom the Pacific Games Council entrusted the XVth Pacific Games in 2009;
- Attended a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of BSP Bank, the Official Sponsor of the 2015 Pacific Games, Mr Ian Clyne, and
- Attended the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Taurama Sports and Aquatics Centre, with the Acting Prime Minister being the guest of honour.
President Lakhan and Mr Minogue also conducted briefing sessions with individual members of the 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee, including CEO Peter Stewart (pictured below at the Organising Committee headquarters), Executive Manager for Games Operations Clint Flood, and Executive Manager for Marketing Ken Siminji.
In May 2012, the Pacific Games Council publicly expressed a number of concerns over the chronic delays which had marked the planning and organisation of the 2015 Pacific Games up until that point.
In concluding this visit, President Lakhan noted the very positive changes that have been delivered over the past ten months under the guidance of Minister Tkatchenko and Mr Constantinou. Most notably, the Pacific Games Council has been impressed by the delivery plan for the Games facilities outlined by the Venues, Infrastructure and Equipment Committee (VIEC), and the organizational planning details which have been developed by the 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee.
President Lakhan said, “These recent developments have satisfied the Pacific Games Council that Papua New Guinea will be ready to host an excellent Pacific Games in 2015. The Council’s confidence levels are improving rapidly. The fact that BSP Bank have signed on to be the Official Sponsor of the 2015 Pacific Games underscores the confidence that the commercial sector and other stakeholders can have that the 2015 Pacific Games will be a success.
“However, due to the considerable loss of time after 2009, critically important work remains to be done to meet the deadlines for the construction of the Games facilities. The Council urges all stakeholders to continue working cooperatively together to deliver all of the necessary facilities in a timely fashion. This includes the timely release of funds by the Papua New Guinea Government so that the necessary construction contracts can be let as and when required, and the application of the 150% tax concession to all potential commercial partners.
“The Council looks forward to seeing further improvements and developments when we next visit Port Moresby”.
Last Modified on 10/06/2015 09:36