MVIL Chief Operating Officer Mr. Bafino Koi giving the keynote speech during the opening of the Motukea Sub-Branch opening.

The Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited (MVIL) is pleased to advise extractive industry operators, motor car dealers and businesses located along the Napa Napa road corridor of its ongoing partnership with the Papua New Guinea Ports Corporation Limited (PNG Ports) in establishing the MVIL-Motukea sub-branch at the Motukea Wharf. 

This partnership has enabled MVIL to extend its Compulsory Third­Party (CTP) insurance coverage in the country, particularly within the PNG Ports facilities; firstly, at the Lae Tidal Basin in June of this year and now at the Motukea Wharf in Central Province. 

Both parties have recently signed a lease agreement which facilitates the establishment of the Motukea sub-branch. The establishment of this office will also further reinforce MVIL’s partnership with PNG Customs Service in so far as this relates to the party’s memorandum of understanding on Joint Inspections and Information Sharing. 

These initiatives are part of MVIL’s efforts to collaborative with PNG Ports and PNG Customs Services to implement the Government of PNG’s policy reform on CTP insurance, which now extends to include uninsured fleet owned and operated by companies in the mining, petroleum, logging and agri-business sectors. 

MVIL has been strategic in its approach when engaging with key stakeholders and the decision to work closely with PNG Ports to negotiate and set up the Motukea sub-branch is no exception. We recognize that PNG Ports Corporation Limited’s core business is to act as a landlord port authority and provide port infrastructure where berthing, pilotage and wharfage services are provided for shipping companies and storage provided for container and generalised cargo transiting through its ports. Motukea is one of two international ports that receives large volumes of cargoes, especially the car ships bringing imported vehicles into PNG.

Our presence at Motukea in partnership with PNG Ports and PNG Customs Services will enable MVIL to do the following:

a. Allow MVIL to work closely with PNG Customs Services to inspect all vehicles, mobile equipment and trucks brought into the country. The inspections will be carried out within the period the cargoes are subject to PNG Customs inspections and before these are removed from the wharf and/ or trans-shipped to other ports. The details of the importer, the chassis number, engine number and other key details of imported fleets will be recoded and updated in our Vehicle Insurance Registration Management System (VIRMS) during this time. This is the primary objective of the Motukea office.

b. Unless requested, vehicles, mobile equipment and trucks destined for resource project sites and those imported by individuals and motor car dealers will not be insured or registered after inspections here at Motukea. We will allow these to pass through, then we will use the recoded information to liaise with the concerned importer to process their fleet, as per the current practice.

c. Allow MVIL to insure and register vehicles, mobile equipment and trucks belonging to businesses that operate along the Nap Napa Road corridor. This applies to current and future PNG Ports-sanctioned port users. Business that operate within the Motukea Wharf vicinity can use our facility to register and insure their fleet provided they have access to Motukea.

Although our Motukea sub-branch operation is restricted to capturing imported vehicles, mobile equipment and trucks destined for the project sites, those imported by individuals and motor car dealers, including corporates within the Motukea port vicinity; it is MVIL’s hope and aspiration that in future, once the Edai Township further develops and a commercial centre is established within this part of Central province, we will look into the possibility of relocating our office to ensure our CTP insurance service is accessible by the wider catchment population in this part of Central Province.

The CTP insurance premiums collected by MVIL is retained and managed on behalf of CTP insurance policy holders to settle motor vehicle accident claims on their behalf when they are at fault of causing bodily injury or death to third parties. 

The function and fees concerning motor vehicle registration does not belong to MVIL. It currently belongs to respective provincial governments. Therefore, all vehicle registration fees collected here at Motukea will be paid to the Central Provincial Government through the Central Province Traffic Authority. This is consistent with the Two-In-One-Sticker Memorandum of Agreement that we have in place with the Central Province Government, where MVIL is recognised as a delegated agent to perform this function and collect registration fees on behalf of the Central Provincial Government. 

MVIL is pleased with the outcome of our partnership with key stakeholders, and we see our collective collaboration as a means to reinforce corporate integrity and transparency in the way business is conducted and best practice and safety standards are observed. 

It therefore gives us the great pleasure, on behalf of the MVIL Board and Management to announce the official establishment of our Motukea sub-branch. This office will officially open for business at 9.30AM on Monday 20 November 2023.