Papua New Guinea Trans-Island Highway Construction Project (I) (II)

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Trans-Island Highway Construction

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the absence of road links between its capital, Port Moresby, the second city, Lae, and the Highland Province, home to vigorous mining and agricultural production activity, meant a sole reliance on marine and air transport, a situation that was highly inefficient both in economic and social terms. To address this, the government formulated plans to construct a road linking the cities of Port Moresby and Lae that would pass through the Owen Stanley mountains, and in 1979, the Australian government supported the implementation of a feasibility study (F/S) for this route. The plan for the trans-island Port Moresby – Lae highway comprised a stretch spanning 575
kilometers, and included construction of a new 80 kilometer road between Bereina and Malalaua, detailed designs for the 135 kilometer section between Malalaua and Aseki, and widening of the existing 90 kilometer stretch between Aseki and Latep (all distances are approximate). Other sections were excluded from the plan.