OBG talks to Francis Awesa, Minister for Works and Implementation

Interview: Francis Awesa

How will the government implement the 2014 national budget when it comes to transport?

FRANCIS AWESA: This administration is fully conscious that, without an efficient transport system, no country is able to thrive in today’s modern economy. This is true for both mature markets and emerging ones, like Papua New Guinea. That is why the 2014 budget puts infrastructure at the forefront of its priorities.

Linking all ports, airports, urban centres and rural areas is one of the most important challenges that we face as a nation, and overhauling our road network continues to be our priority. The Highland Highway, for example, which connects the populous Highlands region and the northern coast, carries as much as 80% of the country’s land freight, so it goes without say that it plays a key role in the country’s socioeconomic development. We must maintain and upgrade this vital corridor, as well as the missing rural links, to assure better distribution of wealth. This is true for the mainland, as well as the coastal areas and the islands of New Britain, Bougainville and New Ireland.

Port Moresby will also see major investments to eliminate congestion, minimise traffic and improve the overall image of the city. Entrepreneurs currently spend a large amount of money for spare parts and maintenance so they can move their goods by roads, when they could instead be reinvesting this into their business or diversifying into other sectors. Billions of kinas have been wasted in this way and transportation has clearly been an impediment to commerce and trade.

In what ways can revenues from the PNG liquefied natural gas project be used to stimulate growth?

AWESA: Once again our abundant natural resources have provided us with an opportunity to correct historical oversights. Past administrations have allowed the infrastructure to deteriorate significantly since the time of this country’s independence, which has kept rural dwellers detached from the economic activities taking place in urban centres. This isolation also contributed to the unequal distribution of wealth that we see today. It is for this reason that we have passed the largest budget to date when it comes to infrastructure, allocating as much as PGK2.7bn ($1.1bn) to the sector this year, a significant increase from the PGK1.8bn ($731.7m) in 2013. Following discussions with some of our donors and development partners, we concluded that the maintenance and construction of new roads should receive greater attention, and that contractors operating here should contribute further towards this goal. We estimate that it costs roughly PGK50,000 ($20,325) per km to maintain our roads, and we believe that contractors should cover maintenance in their specific project locations for at least three years.

If PNG does manage to significantly improve the transportation network, what sort of effects will this have on the country?

AWESA: PNG is possibly one the few countries in the world whose capital is not connected to any other major centres, but if we do manage to fill in the missing links through comprehensive transportation networks, the sky will be the limit for us. For example, I see further integration with the Asian economies in the future. After 40 years of a lukewarm relationship, we are now on much better terms with our neighbour Indonesia, which continues to be in great need of our natural resources. For this reason, this ministry is in the process of establishing the Infrastructure Development Authority to improve central coordination.

This authority will function as a processing house for all strategic infrastructure projects valued at above PGK50m ($20.33m), and will also be responsible for supervising the technical specifications, value for money, and quality and procurement, as over time we have lost track of these very important parameters. At the moment the main challenge that this country faces is how to effectively transform the inflow of resources from the energy boom into real wealth creation, which can be done only through infrastructure development.