Traffic jams and smog are here

INTERNATIONAL travellers last fortnight disembarked at the domestic terminal at Jackson Airport and had to walk all the way in the blazing sun back to the international arrival lounge.
The reason: Every available space at the international parking area was taken up by an international-bound aircraft.
This is not a one-off thing. It is a sign of things to come.
Congestion is a very real challenge for planners and it had better be addressed now before it becomes a problem.
Airport space is just one of many issues, many of which had been raised in this space more than once already.
Little Papua New Guinea is about to be introduced to the big world. There is going to be a rude awakening and it is happening right now before our eyes.
None of it should really come as a surprise. When the government started talking about the LNG project, and the billions of kina that was going to be pumped into the country, planners should have taken to the draft table and looked at everything from the number of seats on aircrafts and hotel beds to the sizes of wharves and airports, and everything else in between.
These things ought to be anticipated but, then, we have tended to, in the past that is, drag our feet and take things far too slowly.
Take the Jackson Airport space dilemma.
It is a wonder that the old domestic terminal had been allowed to fall into disuse. It is wasted space that could very easily be upgraded and turned into either a domestic or international terminal.
Indeed, the entire space from the air cargo all the way to the old domestic terminal could be utilised for such a purpose.
In that way, the present domestic and international terminals can be merged into one terminal – either domestic or international.
A second runway to take heavy aircrafts will need to be built, perhaps, using the current one that is used by light aircraft. Light aircraft movement may need to be diverted to a nearby strip.
If light aircraft are allowed to use Jackson, then, they must be allocated separate parking spot, perhaps, utilising the vacant area at the opposite end near the Air Transport Squadron and the air traffic control tower.
Such is our layman’s common sense view. Quite obviously, planners and civil engineers and the Civil Aviation Authority would have a far more informed opinion.
All we are saying here is that there is ample space, that there is a very real challenge with congestion and that the time is now to take action.
Major airports in other parts of Papua New Guinea will also need to be looked at to take increased aircrafts movements.
Navigational aids such as lights and beacons, which have been an outstanding issue for some time, will have to be attended to as a matter of urgency.
The same will apply to major wharves and jetties.
Port Moresby wharf alone already has a very serious problem of congestion such that ships are parked in the harbour for weeks before they get to berth and offload or take on cargo.
Every day a ship is rested or stopped in the harbour is money wasted.
Lae wharf, the busiest port in the country, is silting up faster than port authority can dredge the sea floor. An alternate international wharf has to be located on the north coast of PNG.
To our mind, Madang provides an excellent harbour, but a decision has to be made quickly.
We’ve written often in this space about motor traffic congestion in areas such as the capital city.
Already we are having bumper to bumper traffic jams throughout Port Moresby every day of the week.  It will get worse, make no mistake about it.
For the first time in the life of the city, a certain grayish fog descends and envelopes the city every morning.
We suggest that it is smog, the very first sign of heavy pollution in Port Moresby.
For the first time, two issues about which we have only heard about in other major capitals of the world are finally in our midst: traffic congestion and smog.
We suggest that they are here to stay.
Planners will need to look at ways of curtailing congestion and reducing smog. They will need to get rid of unworthy road vehicles and institute far more stringent rules on vehicles that emit too much exhaust fumes.
The LNG, and other major resource projects, will not get rid of our problems with the injection of big money. It is the job of the government.