Australian taxpayers have footed a $500 million redevelopment bill for Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Lombrum Naval Base—over double the $175 million price tag initially announced by the previous Liberal-National government in 2018.
Labor’s Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the blowout during a rain-soaked opening ceremony on Manus Island alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape.
The expansion, now officially His Majesty’s Papua New Guinea Naval Base (HMPNGS) Tarangau sits north of mainland PNG and is the largest security infrastructure project Australia has delivered in the region
The project’s inflated cost was partly due to the elongated delivery timeline.
“There have been a number of factors which have led to the cost, and part of that is the time that has been taken to deliver the project,” Marles told the ABC….
Australia Opens New PNG Naval Base Amid $300 Million Cost Blowout
