BOSORINA ROBBY

THE Airport City Development Ltd (ACDL), a company tasked to develop the airports, is wholly owned by the National Airports Corporation (NAC), its managing director Joseph Kintau has clarified, The National reports.
 The company was set up to generate revenue for the corporation and its constitution specifically restricts any persons or entities from owning shares in it.
Kintau says comments in the media regarding the company are misleading and do not truly reflect its activities.
At the moment, he said that the corporation generates almost 90% of its income from one source, putting the entire operation at risk should anything happen to that source.
“By creating the airport city concept, we are diversifying the revenue base to create a safety net.’’
To create this “safety net”, the corporation had to identify which of its assets would generate enough income to sustain all its operations.
“We have more than 300ha of land in Port Moresby alone, and that is the basic concept of the ACDL – to develop a commercial infrastructural centre for other commercial activities such as housing, hotels, service apartments and entertainment areas.
“In Nadzab, we have more than 700ha and also in Tokua, where the concept will be started.
“That is what we and ACDL are doing and not as claimed in the media.”
He also believes that the involvement of Robert Akunai, as president of the PNG Party, in the corporation’s operations has “politicised the process”.
Kintau says the staff attempted to take over the corporation’s management.
“I am told that this was endorsed allegedly by Akunai as he is now in the process of getting NEC’s endorsement to appoint one of the junior staff who is being disciplined for misappropriation and misuse of monies, as managing director of NAC,” he said.
“We advise that he must immediately stop interfering with NAC operational matters,” he said.