Papua New Guinea: Lae Port Development Project

In 2007, the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved (i) a $60 million ordinary capital resources loan; (ii) a $40 million equivalent Asian Development Fund loan, including the administration of (a) a $6 million OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) loan; (iv) a $1.5 million Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) grant; and (v) a $0.75 million HIV/AIDS Cooperation Fund grant—all of which to finance a $154 million Lae Port expansion project.

After the loans were approved, additional geotechnical investigations were carried out, resulting in design changes and an estimated additional cost of $137.4 million. To meet these cost increases, in 2011, ADB approved an ordinary capital resources and an Asian Development Fund loan totaling $89.12 million. The project is the first phase of the tidal basin master plan and is also part of the blueprint drawn up by the Morobe Provincial Government to promote industrial development in Lae City. The Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) was the executing agency. The implementing agency for the port works was an IPBC-led steering committee while the livelihood and social improvement program was implemented by the Morobe Provincial Administration.

A project completion report for the four ADB loans, the OFID loan, and the HIV/AIDS Cooperation Fund grant was prepared in 2017 and is the subject of this validation. IED overall assessment: Less than successful.