Photo: Aribridge Cargo via BBC
That feeling you get when you realize you’ve messed up and you have to publicly acknowledge it – the higher-ups in the Papua New Guinea government are feeling it right now. And it has to do with an older purchase of an entire fleet of Maserati Quattroportes.
In 2018, in preparation for that year’s edition of the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC) summit, the Papua New Guinea government decided to welcome attending leaders in style. Despite the poor quality road infrastructure and the difficult road conditions that sometimes require the use of a 4x4, they decided to splash out on Maseratis. No less than 40 of them, for a total expenditure of almost $6 million.
The decision was widely criticized at the time, and with good reason. That the PNG is not a rich country is perhaps the most important one.
Officials said that, after the summit, the cars would sell to third-parties because there was high demand for them. In reality, there is no Maserati dealership in the country, which would have made any potential owner dread the possibility of the smallest issue with the car and regular servicing. So unless someone bought the car for display purposes, it was simply not a wise purchase.
As a result, of the 40 Quattroportes purchased and brought into the country via jumbo charters, only two sold in the three years that have passed, The Guardian reports. The rest of them are now going on sale at a discounted price, and officials finally own up to the obvious: buying the luxury sedans was a mistake in the first place.
“If we had any foresight, the Maseratis would not have been purchased in the first place,” finance minister John Pundari said. “We made a terrible mistake. If you have got no dealers of Maseratis in PNG, there was no reason to buy Maseratis.”
PNG officials paid K500,000 ($142,000) for a Quattroporte in 2018, but they’re now slated to go on sale at K400,000 ($114,000). Clearly, officials still hope to recoup a big chunk of this massive loss. In addition to the Maseratis, officials are also said to have bought three Bentley Flying Spurs and dozens of Toyota Land Cruisers, Mazdas, Fords, and Mitsubishi Pajeros, all of which have mysteriously disappeared.
The decision was widely criticized at the time, and with good reason. That the PNG is not a rich country is perhaps the most important one.
Officials said that, after the summit, the cars would sell to third-parties because there was high demand for them. In reality, there is no Maserati dealership in the country, which would have made any potential owner dread the possibility of the smallest issue with the car and regular servicing. So unless someone bought the car for display purposes, it was simply not a wise purchase.
As a result, of the 40 Quattroportes purchased and brought into the country via jumbo charters, only two sold in the three years that have passed, The Guardian reports. The rest of them are now going on sale at a discounted price, and officials finally own up to the obvious: buying the luxury sedans was a mistake in the first place.
“If we had any foresight, the Maseratis would not have been purchased in the first place,” finance minister John Pundari said. “We made a terrible mistake. If you have got no dealers of Maseratis in PNG, there was no reason to buy Maseratis.”
PNG officials paid K500,000 ($142,000) for a Quattroporte in 2018, but they’re now slated to go on sale at K400,000 ($114,000). Clearly, officials still hope to recoup a big chunk of this massive loss. In addition to the Maseratis, officials are also said to have bought three Bentley Flying Spurs and dozens of Toyota Land Cruisers, Mazdas, Fords, and Mitsubishi Pajeros, all of which have mysteriously disappeared.
Google News