Transport in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

is in many cases heavily limited by the mountainous terrain. The capital, Port Moresby

Port Moresby

Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

, is not linked by road to any of the other major towns and many highland villages can only be reached by light aircraft or on foot.

Governance

One of the key recommendations of the 1964 World Bank mission was the creation of a new department to manage the development of all transport modes. While many of the World Bank mission's recommendations were much argued both locally and internationally this proposal was widely accepted as it was clear that both political and economic advancement depended on greatly improved land, sea and air transport. Beginning in 1967 with the appointment of a Coordinator of Transport heading a policy unit, in 1968-69 the Department of Transport was fully established responsible for policy and investment in all transport modes, (Civil aviation regulation remained with the Australian Department of Civil Aviation). In the late 60s a large development program prepared by the Department of Transport as a result of the UNDP Transport Survey of Papua New Guinea was endorsed by the PNG House of Assesmbly, the Australian Parliament and multilateral agences, and implementation continued through later decades.,. This and subsequent revisions provided the basis for loans from the multilateral agencies, in particular the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UNDP, establishing a relationship which remains. Major improvements were made to key highway links, notably between the coast and the highlands, to provide international standard port facilities at Port Moresby and Lae, and in lesser ports, for international and domestic airport upgradings, and for the regulation and management of transport services. The Department of Transport remains a key Government agency. Transport assistance from Australia also continued. The AusAid Transport Sector Support Program provides ongoing investment and training assistance. Much of the transport infrastructure is not, however, maintained to appropriate standards, reducing the value of transport services.

Air Travel

Air travel is the single most important form of transport in Papua New Guinea, for the transport of humans and high density/value freight. Aeroplanes made it possible to open up the country during its early colonial period. Even today the two largest cities, Port Moresby

Port Moresby

Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

 and Lae

Lae

Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...

, are only directly connected by planes.

Jacksons International Airport

Jacksons International Airport

Jacksons International Airport , also known as Port Moresby Airport, is located 5 miles outside Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea...

 is the major international airport in Papua New Guinea, located 5 miles from Port Moresby.

Airports: 578 (2007 est.)

Airports - with paved runways
2,438 to 3,047 m	2
1,524 to 2,437 m	14
914 to 1,523 m	4
under 914 m	1
total	21
Airports - with unpaved runways
2,438 to 3,047 m	-
1,524 to 2,437 m	10
914 to 1,523 m	58
under 914 m	489
total	557

Heliports: 2 (2007 est.)

Roadways

As of 1999, Papua New Guinea has a total of 19,600 km of all weather highway, of which only 686 km is sealed. Where there are roads there are many privately operated Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs), mostly minivans, which function as unscheduled buses. In 2001, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 government had given PNG several jeepney

Jeepney

Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating...

 units for Papuan citizens to use.

The longest road in the country is the Highlands Highway

Highlands Highway

The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast....

 which links Lae

Lae

Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...

 and Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

 to the Highlands region. The Boluminski Highway

Boluminski Highway

The Boluminski Highway is the main land transportation route on the island of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It runs from the provincial capital of Kavieng for 193 km down the east coast of the island to Namatanai...

 links Kavieng

Kavieng

Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....

 and Namatanai

Namatanai

Namatanai is a town on the island province of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It is the second largest settlement on the island and connected to the largest and provincial capital of Kavieng by the Boluminski Highway. In 2005, Namantanai was estimated to have a population of 1300 people.During...

 in New Ireland Province. A highway linking Wewak

Wewak

Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak....

 in East Sepik Province and Vanimo

Vanimo

Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea. It is located on a peninsula close to the border with Indonesia.Vanimo is a small township with an economy based around the timber industry. Logging company Vanimo Forest Products, which is owned by Malaysian company Rimbunan Hijau, is...

 in West Sepik Province was completed in September 2007. The Kiunga-Tabubil Highway

Kiunga-Tabubil Highway

The Kiunga-Tabubil Highway is an all weather gravel road that runs from the river port town of Kiunga through Ningerum and Tabubil to the Ok Tedi Mine site, in the remote North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The road is around long, but this changes as sections are...

 is a privately maintained road that links highland communities in the Western Province.

Railways

Papua New Guinea has no major railways, but some mine sites have disused tracks. During the period of German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 colonial control at the start of the 20th century numerous plantation railways had been constructed in German New Guinea

German New Guinea

German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...

. These were built near the settlements of Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

 and Rabaul

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

. After the fall of German New Guinea to the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

ns in the First World War the railways ran into disrepair.

2007

In September 2007 a mining company has proposed to build a new railway to link the coast with a copper-molybdenum at Yandera mine in Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

 province.

Waterways and Ports

The country has 10,940 km of waterways, and commercial port facilities at Port Moresby

Port Moresby

Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...

, Alotau

Alotau

Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, a province of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern shore of Milne Bay.The town is located within the area in which the invading Japanese army suffered their first land defeat in the Pacific War in 1942, before the Kokoda Track battle. A...

, Oro Bay

Oro Bay

Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities.-History:...

, Lae

Lae

Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...

, Kimbe

Kimbe

Kimbe is the capital of the province of West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. It is a port town on the great Kimbe Bay which boasts more than 60 percent of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific. The bustling town of Kimbe is the third largest port in Papua New Guinea and is the fastest...

, Kieta

Kieta

Kieta is a port town located on the eastern coast of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, near the township of Arawa. After extensive destruction during the 1990 Civil Uprising on Bougainville, Kieta has few inhabitants now, and is known mainly for its transport connections .-History:On...

 Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

, Buka

Buka

Buka can refer to:* Buka, Papua New Guinea, the war capital of Bougainville Province.* Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.* Buka Entertainment, a computer game publisher...

, Rabaul

Rabaul

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...

/Kokopo

Kokopo

Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000....

, Kiunga

Kiunga

Kiunga may mean:Places:*Kiunga, Kenya, and the nearby Kiunga Marine National Reserve*Kiunga, Papua New GuineaFish:*the genus Kiunga with the species Kiunga ballochi and Kiunga bleheri...

, Wewak

Wewak

Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak....

 and Vanimo

Vanimo

Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun Province in Papua New Guinea. It is located on a peninsula close to the border with Indonesia.Vanimo is a small township with an economy based around the timber industry. Logging company Vanimo Forest Products, which is owned by Malaysian company Rimbunan Hijau, is...

.

The major exports are mining and raw materials, with some containerized

Containerization

Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

trade through Port Moresby and Lae. Import volumes exceed exports, resulting in increased shipping costs as the inbound leg compensates for empty capacity on the outbound journey. Principal trade routes are southward to Australian ports, and northward to Singapore.

Merchant marine:

total:
21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 36,417 GRT/

ships by type:
bulk 2, cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll-on/roll-off 3 (1999 est.)

In coastal locations small "banana boat" dinghies provide a local transport service.