Provinces responsible for transport infrastructure

The National Transport PNG

DECLARED as national assets, provincial governments have the primary responsibility for planning, developing and funding transport infrastructure at provincial level.
However, they have not been provided with sufficient financial resources to undertake this task effectively and their technical and administrative capacity to do so is, in many cases, very limited.
They have been assisted in their task by central government agencies, but such assistance has at times been informal and without cost recovery.
According to the National Transport Strategy the Vision 2050 has set out Government’s intention to bring 25,000 kms of the public road network under DOW ownership for more effective management of maintenance, upgrading and new construction.
As institutional change progresses in the road sector, the National Road Authority will become increasingly responsible for funding (from road user charges), managing and maintaining a core road network of about 8,000 kms once this is brought up to a good maintainable standard.
This policy recognises the present imbalance between the limited funds and capacity available to the provinces compared with national government.
It will require over the period of the MTDP and NTS that some 17,000 kms of new links and upgraded provincial roads become declared national assets and the responsibility of central government in regard to funding.
There will still remain approximately 12,000 kms of road under Provincial and LLG ownership, but down from the present approximately 20,000 kms.
In order to maintain a consistent approach across the transport modes, Government will also review the maritime and air transport infrastructure that are currently provincial and LLG assets, with the intention of declaring the more important of these as national assets bringing them over time under the ownership of PNG Ports Ltd and National Airports Corporation, to better align technical capacity and funding availability between national and sub-national level in these modal subsectors.
Conversely, some national assets that have become less used, may revert to provincial or local ownership, or be closed.
Conditions for bringing specified provincial transport assets under national control will included:

  • Assurance of sustainable funding for asset maintenance from national government budget appropriations, including funding of recognised CSO obligations where these exist;
  • Agreement by the provincial or local level government owners of the assets to be transferred;
  • The development and ongoing maintenance and operation of the assets will conform to the provincial development plans and transport plans. –dot.org