Some of the controversial Maseratis bought by the Papua New Guinea Government for the 2018 APEC summit will be allocated to the country's overseas missions.
Papua New Guinea APEC minister Justin Tkatchenko standing infront of APEC House in Port Moresby. Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins
Others will be held for official events, but for now the luxury vehicles continue to be kept unused in a warehouse on a wharfside lot in Port Moresby.
PNG media is reporting that the Foreign Affairs department has been asked to come up with a list of missions that could use the cars.
More than 700 vehicles, including forty Maseratis, were imported between 2015 to 2018 for the APEC meetings valued at up to $US139,000 each.
'Hotcakes'
The PNG government said at the time it intended to sell the vehicles after APEC, with the minister responsible, Justic Tkatchenko, saying the luxury cars would "sell like hotcakes."
Of the 43 luxury cars, which included two Bentleys, just three have been sold.
During the 2018 summit in Port Moresby, leaders from some APEC member countries, including China and the US, brought their own vehicle fleet to move around in.
Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand opted to travel around the PNG capital by Toyota Highlander.
One of the luxury Maserati Sedans arriving in Port Moresby ahead of the 2018 APEC Leaders Summit. Photo: EMTV online
The government of former Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, who lost power in 2019, failed to furnish parliament with a complete, independent audit of spending on APEC.
For over a year after the summit, PNG's government lost track of around 250 of the vehicles imported for APEC.
Some have already been repurposed into general public service, but moves to let MPs use the Maseratis made for poor optics for government last year and were quickly dropped.
