Papua New Guinea(PNG) has developed an extensive road improvement programme that will see the country making key upgrades to transport links. A budget of over US$6.3 billion/year will be required to improve national highways and provincial roads in PNG.
The poor quality of the road network in PNG means that journey times are considerably longer than they should be. This boosts transport costs and hampers the operating efficiency of many industries, while also increasing the risk of crashes. Up to 70% of roads in PNG are considered in a poor state of repair.
New works will improve connections between the Wau-Bulolo, Momase, Magi, Sepik, Enga and Highlands highways. Improvements will also be made to the Madang-Baiyer Highway, Gulf-Southern Highland Highway and Karamui-Gumine Road.
The way the road system is managed will also be improved as part of the road development programme. The PNG Government has passed a bill that will see the replacement of the National Road Authority (NRA) Act 2003 and the Road Maintenance Act 1971. This new bill will see entire road network being managed by a new highway division.
