SYDNEY, Australia and MCLEAN, Va. – Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) today announced the signing of its first Hilton Hotels & Resorts branded hotel in Papua New Guinea. Under this management agreement with Star Mountain Plaza Ltd. (SMPL), Hilton will manage the newly built Hilton Port Moresby and convention centre in the Star Mountain Plaza development in Port Moresby. Construction of a 16-storey, mixed-use tower housing the 212-room Hilton hotel, along with office and retail space and 128 apartments, is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and be completed by late 2017.
Hilton Port Moresby will be an addition to Hilton Worldwide’s existing pipeline of five hotels in the Australasia region where the global hospitality company presently operates 21 hotels under the Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton brands.
“Hilton is a brand synonymous with hospitality and our hotels are located in key business and leisure destinations where our guests are traveling to,” said Rob Palleschi, global head, full service brands, Hilton Worldwide. “Papua New Guinea is one of the world’s last tourism frontiers, home to an incredible natural bounty of rainforest, volcanoes and islands. Port Moresby is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea, and the main port of entry into Papua New Guinea by air and sea, making it a key gateway location. Today we are delighted to fly the Hilton flag in yet another attractive leisure destination here in Port Moresby.”
“Today’s announcement bears testament to both the Hilton brand’s strength in the Australasia region as well as our management expertise, borne out of having operated here for more than 40 years, to deliver exceptional experiences for both guests and owners,” said Robert Scullin, vice president, Development, Australasia, Hilton Worldwide. “We are privileged to be partnering with Star Mountain Plaza Ltd. to launch Hilton Port Moresby as a strong addition to our current portfolio of 21 operating hotels and look to welcome travellers to this city with our world-renowned Hilton hospitality.”
Hilton Port Moresby will comprise of 164 standard rooms of 33 square metres, 46 Executive Suites of 46.5 square metres, and two 117 square-metre Chairman Suites. The complex will include four restaurants and two bars, a business centre, health club, spa and outdoor pool and event spaces as large as 2800 square metres.
Built over two stages, the entire US$400million project and operation is being overseen and controlled by Mineral Resources Development Company Ltd. (MRDC). MRDC is 100% owned by the Papua New Guinea government and manages landowners and provincial governments’ equity interests in Mining and Petroleum projects in PNG.
“Aside from being a popular leisure destination, Papua New Guinea is also increasingly attractive for business travel,” said Mr. Augustine S Mano, Managing Director for MRDC and Chairman for Star Mountain Plaza Ltd (SMPL). “With a 96-year legacy in hospitality as well as strong global commercial engines, Hilton is the perfect partner and we are confident that Hilton Port Moresby will set a new benchmark in world-class hotel experiences here in Papua New Guinea when it opens its doors in 2018.”
Star Mountain Plaza Ltd. (SMPL) is a joint venture between three Papua New Guinea land owner groups, Mineral Resources Star Mountain (MRSM), Mineral Resources Ok Tedi (MROT), and Petroleum Resources Kutubu (PRK).
