Transport

Infrastructure deficits are one of PNG’s most pressing economic concerns, affecting the competitiveness of industry and agriculture while hindering development in the country’s interior. Thanks to increasing revenues, however, the government is now in a position to address its inadequate land and sea transport systems. The first of four development plans will spend $11.7bn on transport over five years, with the goal of eventually tripling the size of the road network, expanding over-capacity ports, and modernising airports. The challenge will be to marshal the necessary investments while overcoming the bureaucratic and parochial tendencies of PNG’s political system. This chapter features interviews with Wasantha Kumarasiri, CEO, Air Niugini; Stanley Alphonse, CEO, PNG Ports Corporation; and Joseph Kintau, Managing Director, National Airports Corporation.