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Government says cars "sell like hotcakes" to private sector buyers
The Papua New Guinean government is closely studying the import of 40 luxury Maserati cars from Italy for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (Apec).
Quattroporte sedans, which cost more than $ 100,000 each (£ 75,000), will be used by foreign leaders.
The media and activists wondered whether this poor Pacific country had wasted millions of dollars.
But the government says the private sector is "committed" to paying.
Apec's minister, Justin Tkachenko, said the cars "would provide the leaders with the level of transportation that is the standard for vehicles used at the Apec summits".
Images of cars arriving at the Port Moresby Airport in chartered cargo planes were shared on social media and raised concern that taxpayers' money was wasted on this lavish purchase.
Tkachenko told the Australian newspaper that the government had paid a certain amount of money as a "deposit to get everything here", but that cars "sold like hotcakes" and would not be a burden. for the government.
It did not reveal how much the government had already spent on cars, nor who could buy them and at what price.
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New versions of cars sell over $ 100,000 in the United States (2014 file)
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill also insisted that the government "will not miss anything".
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Vice President Mike Pence are both expected to attend the high-level regional meeting next month.
Keith Jackson, a blogger on PNG issues, told the BBC that these cars were part of an effort by the leaders to project an image of "sophistication" before the summit, especially to embellish the capital, Port Moresby. , with new roads and new buildings.
"And all of this at a time when infectious diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and malaria have re-emerged in the country, teachers are not getting paid and the majority of its eight million people are falling into poverty" , did he declare.
Papua New Guinea is one of Apec's poorest countries, with 40% of the population living on less than a dollar a day, according to the UN. In June, the government declared a national public health emergency after a polio epidemic.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia is expected to provide more than $ 100 million to help it attend the summit. This includes deploying soldiers as well as fighter planes to secure the airspace.
Recent guests of Apec have also purchased luxury vehicle fleets to facilitate the transport of the leaders. In 2015, BMW sponsored more than 200 vehicles for the Philippines-sponsored summit, which were later sold to the public.
