Media Center

News Release

Email this   printer friendly format

ADB Loan To Papua New Guinea To Upgrade Rural Roads

Over half of Papua New Guinea's population are served by the Highlands road network which will be restored as a result of a road upgrading project for which the Asian Development Bank today approved a US$63 million loan.

The lack of infrastructure has been identified as a significant constraint to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and social development in the Highlands Region. Poor road conditions are adversely affecting the economy and exports. Incidence of poverty dominates the rural areas in PNG and the rural communities suffer from the lack of essential services such as education, health, and agriculture extension services, employment and markets for cash crop produce - due to the extremely difficult road conditions.

The Highlands is the country's primary source of export earnings and national income and the roads facilitate the transport of minerals, including gold, petroleum products and agriculture products. Travel times are lengthy and roads are unsafe in many areas. Recurrent traffic interruptions have isolated some communities, contributing to worsening social conditions, increasing unrest and a breakdown of security conditions.

The Road Maintenance and Upgrading (Sector) Project will help the subsistence communities move toward cash-based production and enable their inclusion in the mainstream economy and civil society. The project targets improved access from farms to markets enhancing agriculture prices and thus providing better living conditions to rural villagers, and delivery of social services - health and education - to the communities in the Highland's Region. It will lead to tangible income generation opportunities for the poor including employment and access to employment markets. It also aims to improve competitiveness of exports - including minerals - in the world markets.

The project focuses on upgrading and rehabilitation of the large provincial and national feeder road network, that connects the subsistence communities with the district and provincial markets, and the social services; and establishes an effective road maintenance regime to improve the performance and life of the road assets in the long-term.

The project will make a significant contribution to poverty reduction as it will help bring two million, mainly poverty-stricken, people into the mainstream economy and improve access to a health clinics and schools as well as to jobs. In particular, it will reduce the burden for rural women, the major producers and sellers of market commodities.

Contacts