PRIME Minister James
Marape’s dream to fully
connect the country by road
will soon be realised. In fact, he
says, by 2040 this should be reality.
“I am very excited that my Government
has made a historical and momentous
decision and got the approval of 78
Members of Parliament to pass an important
piece of legislation which is
called Connect PNG (Implementation
and Funding) Bill 2021. I acknowledge
the support of the Opposition in
the passage of this Bill,” Marape said
in a media release.
“This legislation guarantees 5.6%
(equating to K1 billion per year) of
forecasted revenues annually to fund
the Connect PNG Road Infrastructure
Development Programme from 2020-
- The ultimate aim is to achieve
100% road connectivity for PNG by - This country could have been
fully connected some years ago, however,
our governments in the past did
not see the importance of roads for
PNG’s development.
“My Government has seen that without
connecting the country with better
roads, we will still lag behind on all development
indicators on which basis
PNG is categorised as lower middle income
country and placing it on 155 our
185 countries on the Human Development
Index.
“With this legislation in place, I now direct
the Department of Works to get to
work. The mainland must be connected
by road so that our people can drive
from Wutung Border Post in Sandaun
Province to East Cape in Alotau, Milne
Bay Province. I would like to see our
people from the Momase and Highlands
Regions celebrate our 50th Independence
Anniversary in the National
Capital District in 2025. I would like to
see the people of West New Britain and
East New Britain fully connected by
road so that opportunities for socioeconomic
development are harnessed
and exploited through increased accessibility.
“I can confidently assure the people
PNG that our people and our country
will never be the same again after it is
fully connected by roads. My government
has broken the status quo of borrowing
and maintaining existing roads
rather than rehabilitating and constructing
the Missing Link roads so that PNG
is fully connected by roads.
“In terms of the rolling 20 year programme,
we will develop, rebuild, and
sustain 16,200km of strategic roads
comprising 4,200km of Priority National
Roads, 1,800km of strategic
Missing Link Roads (new road constructions),
9,000km of Provincial and
District Roads, and 2,000m of bridges.
These capital works are equally distributed
in all regions so that all our people
have an equal opportunity for participation
in the development opportunities
generated by these roads.”
Marape says after the roads have been
brought upto good conditions, the PNG
Road Fund will assume responsibility
for routine maintenance and sustainability
of these roads.
“I acknowledge the good work of the
PNG Road Fund Board that consist of
the Secretaries For Treasury, National
Planning, Transport, Finance State Solicitor
and Works.
“I encourage investors to take full advantage
of the public investment roads
by appraising investment opportunities
and start investing and developing our
natural resources and creating jobs for
our people. The roads are a catalyst for
this to happen as efficient transportation
systems reduce costs in many sectors
of the economy.
“When transport systems are efficient,
they provide economic and social opportunities
and benefits that result in
positive multiplier effects such as better
accessibility to markets, employment
and additional investments. When
transport systems are deficient in terms
of capacity or reliability, they incur economic
costs such as reduced or missed
opportunities and lower quality of life.”
The Prime Minister said the Government
has commenced implementing
the Connect PNG Programme in 2021
and will continue in 2022 with a total
allocation of K710 million (that is more
than 46.7% of the Transport Sector Allocation)
from a total allocation of
K1,519.1 million for the Transport Sector
(17.6% of the total Capital Investment
Budget).
The 20-year-implementation plan
It is important to note that no region or
province will miss out in terms of roads
under the Connect PNG Programme,
Marape says. All the Strategic (Economic)
Road Corridors (mentioned in
the table here) already cover a cluster
of other roads. For example, New
Britain Corridor includes South West
Coast Highway to connect Pomio District,
Karimui Road is under Baiyer
Corridor (Madang-Baiyer-Karamui-
Gulf), and the Border Corridor includes
Hela, Southern Highlands. Western and
Sandaun Provinces. These and other
roads are included in the 9,000km of
Provincial Trunk Roads.
“I acknowledge the contribution of
all our development partners to the
transport sector over the years. I
strongly recommend that our development
partners review and realign
their planned assistance to the road
sector to ensure that the priorities of
the Connect PNG Programme are
delivered.
“At this juncture, I congratulate the
Minister for Works, Hon Michael Nali
and his Secretary Mr. David Wereh and
their staff for the effort put into the
Connect PNG (Implementation and
Funding) Bill 2021.
