The iconic Valupindi Haus in Waigani will now become the home of the Department of Education following relocation of Department of Finance and Planning to a new building during the last few weeks.

Vulupindi property owner Nambawan Super welcomed the decision by the Government to locate the Department together with Teaching Service Commission and the PNG National Commission for UNESCO all of which were displaced due to rental issues in the building they had occupied.

The Government is making location rearrangements of some of its key agencies as it deals with rental arrears that in recent months forced landlords to lock Government officers out of office.

Nambawan Super Chief Executive Paul Sayer said   the NSL has been working closely with the Government Office Allocation Committee (GOAC) to ensure the seamless transition of these key Departments to Vulupindi.

“NSL and GOAC are currently working to finalize the tenancy agreement for Vulupindi Haus to onboard these new tenants and also to renew the expired leases for other NSL owned buildings tenanted by the State”, Mr. Sayer said.

“In anticipation of the onboarding, our team has been working to ensure that our new tenants have everything they need to continue providing their valuable services to the people of PNG through our facilities at Vulupindi.”

“On behalf of Namabwan Super and our Members, we thank the State for supporting this PNG-owned investment property by committing to continue their tenancy. As NSL continues to work on mitigating the adverse effects of challenging global and local economic conditions, our Members will be pleased to hear that Vulupindi Haus is continuing to generate returns through this partnership with the State.”

“In addition, we are aware of the State’s ambitions to own and operate some of the properties in which it is a tenant through the Build Own Lease Transfer (BOLT) initiative. Nambawan Super owns a number of office buildings within the busy Town and Waigani Districts which would suit the States vision of creating a one-stop-shop for the effective delivery of similar services and needs of the public.”

“For instance, Vulupindi Haus, Eda Tano Haus (Department of Lands and Physical Planning) and the AOPI Centre (Department of Health and Department of Higher Education) are all occupied by State Departments and are conveniently in walking distance from each other as well as other public service providers, making them ideal potential options for a BOLT arrangement.”

“The State is an important stakeholder of Nambawan Super as they are one of our largest tenants, investment partners, and most importantly the employer of many of our Members. NSL aims to continue our strong relationship with the State and progress discussions with the various parties on a potential BOLT arrangement.”

“We are also thankful to the State, through the Departments of Finance and Treasury, for honouring the agreement to settle its outstanding arrears and continuing to make timely payments of the first two installments for November and December 2022.”

“Last year, NSL and the State reached an agreement whereby the State would settle the remaining balance of its rental arrears in K10 million monthly installments. The installments include K5 million for clearing the balance of the K70 million previously accrued and K5 million to pay its current rental invoices.”

“As at the end of January 2023, the State had paid K102 million of its outstanding rental arrears. We expect that the State’s rental account with NSL will be brought up to date and all outstanding arrears will be settled by the end of February 2024 if the K10 million monthly payments are not missed”, Mr. Sayer concluded.