Parkside City: A New Benchmark for Urban Growth in Port Moresby

Parkside City is a major masterplanned residential community in Gerehu, on the northwestern edge of Port Moresby. Led by Parkside Development PNG Limited, the project aims to deliver more than 1,500 residential lots, commercial areas, parks, public open space and community infrastructure across about 150 hectares. Stage 1 is now under civil construction, while the broader masterplan is being finalised.

A New Community in Gerehu

Port Moresby does not need more fragmented housing. It needs planned communities with roads, drainage, open space, services and long-term structure. That is the purpose of Parkside City.

The project is located in Gerehu, extending north from Tolliman Circuit toward the proposed four-lane Nigibata Road. It is planned as one of PNG’s first large-scale masterplanned communities, with housing, retail, commercial uses, parks and community infrastructure delivered as part of a wider urban precinct.

For buyers, investors and government, the project raises a clear question: what should the next stage of urban living in PNG look like?

The Developer and the Offer

Parkside City will be delivered by Parkside Development PNG Limited, supported by Parkside Group and South Pacific Homes. Parkside Group is an experienced developer of large-scale residential communities in Queensland Austrlaia, with South Pacific Homes focused on housing designed and built for PNG families.

The offer is more than land release. Parkside City is planned to include a range of housing types, from starter homes to larger family and lifestyle homes, supported by streets, parks, future retail, health services, education and recreation facilities.

That is what separates a subdivision from a community. The homes matter, but the surrounding structure determines whether daily life works.

What the project seeks to deliver

Parkside City is planned across about 150 hectares, with more than 1,500 residential lots and capacity for about 10,000 residents. Its masterplanning approach focuses on neighbourhood design, connected parks, green space, infrastructure, services and culturally responsive urban design.

These elements matter in Port Moresby because housing success depends on more than lot numbers. Access, drainage, safety, services, public space and transport links shape value and liveability. The project’s stated ambition is to create a higher standard of residential development in PNG. What has been previously considered by the local market as 'standard' will be lifted. Components such as adequate street lighting, community recreation, irrigated parklands, and large environmental corridors that preserve cultural and ecological values will be presented at the forefront. The practical test will be whether the estate delivers that standard through construction, staging, approvals and long-term management.

Progress so far

The project has an Environment Permit from the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority. Stage 1 received full planning permission from the National Capital District Commission on 3 April 2025.

Civil construction for Stage 1 began in May 2025 after a competitive tender process. Clearing is complete, as is drainage, bulk earthworks and formation of stage 1 roads. The broader precinct masterplan is also nearing completion, with future stages expected to move through concept approval and then full planning permission.

That staged process is important. Large communities need infrastructure corridors, drainage systems and approvals resolved before design moves too far ahead of delivery.

Why we are following Parkside City

This is our first article in a sequence on Parkside City.

Pacific Infrastructure Group will follow the project as it develops, focusing on the issues that matter to buyers, investors, regulators and communities. Future articles will look at the masterplan, housing product, construction progress, environmental constraints, infrastructure sequencing, drainage, social impact and approvals.

Parkside City brings together many of the issues shaping Port Moresby’s growth: housing demand, land use, infrastructure, affordability, community needs and environmental management.

The key point is simple. Parkside City is not only a property project. It is a test of whether Port Moresby can deliver planned urban growth at scale.