Ports deals with climate worries

By LUKE KAMA
PNG Ports Corporation Ltd is increasing and improving capacity of its infrastructure nationwide to cater for the adverse impacts of climate change, an official says.
Vagi Eoima, the corporation’s chief infrastructure officer, said this during a workshop on building resilience to climate change in the country. It was held in Port Moresby on Tuesday.
Eoima said building ports came with huge financial costs.
He said PNG Ports Corporation, as a company and Papua New Guinea as a country, could not afford to spend huge sums of money on infrastructure which could easily be damaged by extreme weather events.
“Most of the huge ports built in the country have a lifespan of over 50 years,” Eoima said.
“We would like to incorporate the impact of climate change as part of our design standards, in the new port infrastructure that will be built or maintenance of existing port facilities.”
A presentation was done by Dr Ashwini Otta, an international coastal engineering specialist.
Dr Otta was engaged by PNG Ports Corporation to undertake climate vulnerability studies on the country’s existing port infrastructures.
The studyindicated that most existing port infrastructures were prone to the impact of climate change and extreme weather events.
“Apart from the port infrastructure, most access roads to ports are unpaved road stretches which are prone to floods and natural disasters,” he said.
PNG Ports Corporation, in partnership with the Climate Change and Development Authority, is working towards identifying climate vulnerabilities of port infrastructure and develop action plans.
The plans will assist and guide the company in its planning and design for new port infrastructure.