PAPUA New Guinea imports more than 1.5 billion litres of refined petroleum products annually at an estimated cost exceeding US$1.5 billion (about K3.8 billion) as local companies partner to introduce an electric vehicle (EV).
The three Papua New Guinean companies – Turra Holdings, Odesh Motors, and Sahul Energy – have partnered to introduce the country’s first electric vehicle pilot programme, bringing zero-emission light vehicles, trucks and buses into the country.
Sahul Energy, an energy infrastructure advisory and development firm, representative Martin Tambiawi, said that transport fuel represented the single largest component of the fuel import bill and with diesel prices among the highest in the Pacific region and rising global pressure to decarbonise, the economic and environmental case for electric mobility in PNG had never been stronger.
Tambiawi said that PNG’s abundant sustainable energy resources such as solar, hydro, and geothermal, provided a pathway to power electric vehicles from clean domestic sources rather than imported fossil fuels.
“The pilot programme is designed to demonstrate this opportunity in practice, generating the operational data and commercial evidence that will unlock PNG’s electric transport future,” he said.
“The programme is a historic milestone for the country’s transport sector and positions PNG at the forefront of the Pacific’s clean mobility transition.”
Tambiawi added that the pilot programme was aimed at deploying electric vehicles across three categories: light passenger vehicles, medium-duty commercial trucks, and urban transit buses supported by a network of charging infrastructure at strategic locations across the National Capital District.
The initiative is aimed at generating real-world performance data on EV operations in PNG’s tropical climate, road conditions, and energy environment, building the evidence base for broader national adoption.
After the pilot programme introduction in Port Moresby, the partners plan to expand operations to Lae and to other parts of the country.
Turra Holdings managing director Isikeli Taureka said the programme was about proving that PNG can lead in the clean energy transition.
“Our country has the sustainable energy resources to power an electric transport future, and today, we are taking the first step,” he said.
“We see electric vehicles not as a distant aspiration but as a practical, commercial opportunity for PNG today.
“Diesel costs in this country are among the highest in the region and compounded by the current turmoil in the Middle East.
“Every electric kilometre driven is money saved, emissions avoided, and energy independence gained for our nation.”
Meanwhile, Odesh Motors managing director Isaac Jipsy said that the partners’ role was to ensure that the energy infrastructure was ready for the vehicles to arrive in the country.
That includes the charging systems, solar and battery integration, and grid-ready designs that work in PNG’s conditions.
“This pilot (programme) aims to demonstrate that locally designed, locally owned clean energy infrastructure is the foundation for PNG’s electric transport future,” Jipsy said.
