Ex-Post Monitoring Report
Trans-Island Highway Construction Project (I) (II) in Papua New Guinea

1.

Evaluator：Atsushi Hashimoto (Maenam Advisory)
Field Survey: June 2008
Outline of the Project and Japan’s Yen LoanProject Site

A section of the Bereina-Malalaua Road

1.1 Project Objective
The objective of this project is to build the foundation for a highway network linking PNG’scapital, Port Moresby, the second largest city, Lae, and the Highland Province, in order tostimulate flows of people and goods, improve living standards in local communities andpromote industrial development, through the construction and improvement of an all-weather
road in southern and central areas of the country.
1.2

Outline of the Project
Loan Amount / Loan Disbursed Phase I: 4,691 million yen / 4,423 million yen
AmountPhase II: 5,461 million yen / 5,255 million yen

Signing of Loan Agreement / Phase I: March 1991 / March 2000
Final Disbursement Date

Phase II: March 1991 / May 2001

Ex-post Evaluation

Fiscal 2002

Executing Agency
Main Contract
Consultant Contract

Government of the Independent State of Papua
New Guinea/Department of Works (DOW)

China National Overseas Engineering Corporation(China)Nippon Koei (Japan)

1.3 Background and Reasons for Conducting Ex-post Monitoring Study
This project was subjected to a monitoring study because of the following reasons.
(Effectiveness) The volume of traffic that shows the effectiveness of the project was lower than1

it was originally planned (40 vehicles per day compared to the estimated 180 vehicles per day at
appraisal in 2001). Since the effect was not recognized at the evaluation, it became necessary
to grasp the subsequent effect.
(Sustainability) A monitoring study needed to be conducted due to a concern over possibleinsufficient maintenance and management resulting from a lack of budget.
2. Monitoring Results, Outline of the Project and Japan’s Yen Loan
2.1 Effectiveness
The traffic volume has increased significantly from the time of evaluation. The improvementin access of local rural residents along the road to the market and social services helped create
opportunities of cash income and improve their living standards.
(1) Traffic Volumes
In the project, an 80-kilometer road from Bereina,
200 kilometers northwest of PNG’s capital, Port
Moresby, to Malalaua was constructed (see map onthe right).
Table 1 shows the traffic volume between Bereinaand Malalaua.

Malalaua

Bereina

Chart 1: Project site
Table1: Traffic Volume between Bereina and Malalaua
Average traffic (vehicles per day) *1

Ordinary cars
Utilityvehicles,(PMV*, jeeps, etc.)

Estimate atappraisal (2001)

At evaluation(2001)

At monitoring(2008)

134

53488(58PMVs)

etc.
153

Trucks

142

19

Total

18040112*1 The traffic at monitoring is the actual volume of 24-hour on-site survey.
Source: Evaluation report and on-site monitoring

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The traffic volume has increased since the ex-post evaluation. The volume at the monitoring(number of passing vehicles) is below the estimate at appraisal and thus the economic impact isnot significant when only the volume is taken into consideration. However, the majority of thetraffic is PMVs, transformed city buses from trucks. The traffic of utility vehicles, which
include the city bus, and other vehicles exceeds the volume projected in the plan. A PMV
usually carries 30 passengers and baggage. It is more effective in increasing the number ofpeople who are benefited from the road usage than a rise in the number of ordinary cars. One
PMV also benefits 30 people in terms of the effect of time saving. It used to take 3 to 4 hours
between Malalaua and Lae by sea before the road construction, which now takes 1 hour. This
has a significant economic impact. It also enabled the participation of people residing along
the road who were not in the money economy zone in economic activities. Business
opportunities have been created and their access to social services has been improved.
The section between Bereina and Malalaua wasoriginally a part of the plan to link Lae and Port Moresby.
No construction work of a general road between Malalaua
and Lae was implemented after the completion of theproject and before the monitoring. Although there is aroad between Lae to Aseki for lumber transportation,
there is no connecting road from Aseki to Malalaua(green line in map on the right). There still exists a planof linking Lae with Malalaua. The feasibility study(F/S) that completed in 2007 identified the construction ofKirkori
Iokea
two routes, one from Aseki to Malalaua and the otherfrom Wau to Malalaua. Its feasibility is now beingstudied.
Although the route between Aseki andMalalaua is shorter than the other, it costs more because it
is a rough route and it was concluded that the routebetween Wau and Malalaua is more economically viable.
A total construction cost of 115 million kinas is estimated.
Although the F/S has been completed, there is no plan ofdetailed design or construction of the road.
Area Map (Conceptual Diagram)
Highland Province (inland) in the central region of
PNG produces petroleum, natural gas and mineral resources such as gold, while it is also aproduction site of such agricultural produce as highland vegetables and fruits. The distribution
route from the area is land transport to Lae (second biggest city in PNG) in the eastern region byroad and transport by air or sea from Lae to Port Moresby. There is a pipeline for petroleum
from Highland stretching to the south to Kirkori on the Gulf of Papua (Port Moresby side), fromwhich the petroleum transported to the gulf via the pipe is exported. There is a plan toconstruct a road from Highland Province to Kirkori along the pipeline and from Kirkori toKerema along the Gulf in order to connect Highland Province with Port Moresby. There is aroad from Kerema to Malalaua, although not paved. Construction of a road from the Highland

3region to the Gulf of Papua is now under investigation and planning. Although it is yet tobecome a project, this road is higher priority than the road to connect Port Moresby with Lae
according to the DOW.
(2) Reductions in Traveling Times
The monitoring result of the effect of time saving was the same as that in the ex-post
evaluation. The road can be traveled at 70 kilometers per hour, which is the design speed. It
takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to travel between Bereina and Malalaua. Before the project
was implemented, it used to take about 3 to 4 hours via the unpaved coastal route between
Bereina and Iokea and from Iokea to Malalaua by boat.
2.2 Impact(1) Impact on Economic Development
From the interview with people living along the road, we confirmed that the impact reported
in the ex-post evaluation still remained. The improved access to Port Moresby has alsochanged the living in rural areas. The residents in remote rural communities who had had nocash income before began to have cash income by taking their produce (mainly fruit called
betelnut, a luxury grocery item like chewing tobacco) to Port Moresby. This has enabled themto purchase more goods and their life has become more convenient. On the other hand,
drinking habit and drugs were also introduced.
(2) Impact on Environment and Local Communities
Iokea, which was the relay station of the boat (dinghy) from Kerema or Malalaua to Port
Moresby before the completion of this project, became no longer on the major route and theaccess to Port Moresby worsened after the completion. The coastal route from Iokea toBereina (that was originally in a bad condition) is now impassable. Iokea residents takes a
PMV that is operated once a week to get to the road constructed under the project and takes
another PMV to go to Port Moresby or Malalaua. When the route to the road is not accessible
in the rain season, they go west from Iokea along the coast by boat to go up the river toApanaipi, an almost midpoint of the road.
2.3

Sustainability

There is not sufficient enough maintenance and management work due to a lack of budget.
Because the road design life is near the end, the paving can be damaged quickly if nomaintenance work is carried out and its function can deteriorate if grass on the road shoulder
covers the road.
(1) Technical Capacity
The maintenance and management of the road constructed under the project is not hard
technically. Same as in the ex-post evaluation, maintenance and management work is done to4

a limited extent. When the monitoring was conducted, weeding on the road shoulder andrepair work of potholes were conducted by contractors, yet there was no record of maintenanceand management work before the monitoring. The contractors were small and medium-sized
construction companies in PNG and the quality of their work was never good from theviewpoint of evaluators. (Weeding was not complete. Two much or too little asphalt forfilling in the potholes.)(2) Structural Organization
There are four DOW employees at each of their local office. One of the four employees iscivil engineer in charge of maintenance and management of roads. Even though they reported
the need of such work to the head office, it was not carried out due to a lack of budget. Theroad is under the jurisdiction of DOW office in Central Province for the section from Apanaipi
to Bereina and the DOW office in the Gulf Province for the section from Apanaipi to Malalaua.
(3) Financial Status
The use of the RAMS (Road Asset Management System) which introduced with the support
from Asian Development Bank began. The system works in such a way that current roadconditions data is input and then such information as whether maintenance work is needed ornot, its method, timing and cost is output. The data is updated every six months as provided.
The budget of maintenance and management calculated by the RAMS is 300 million kinas forthe entire roads in PNG and a minimum of 100 million kinas. However, in reality, only 20
million kinas are allocated. The budget for roads in PNG is absolutely in short and the budget
for the maintenance and management of this particular road is also insufficient.
(4) Operation and MaintenanceAlthough the road is usable, some sections are closed because one of two lanes is covered
with dirt due to landslide. The dirt was left without being removed for a long time. The roadsurface has also begun to deteriorate. Not only are there potholes but also there are narrowcracks running on the surface layer. Grass on the road shoulder also grew and only one and ahalf lane of two-lane road is confirmed in many parts. The design life of this road is 10 years
and thus aged deterioration cannot be stopped. It is desired that proper maintenance andmanagement work is conducted in view of its deterioration.
As described above, although the maintenance work is conducted limitedly, the quality ofwork is not desirable due to the abilities of contractors. Although the PNG government places
importance on maintenance and management of existing facilities, it has to depend on donors
due to a shortage of government budget.
3.

Conclusion, Lessons Learned and Recommendations

3.1 Conclusion
The traffic volume in on a rise and the road has contributed to the vitalization of economic

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activities of local residents along the road. However, due to a lack of budget, maintenance andmanagement work is not desirable. Additional measures will be needed in the future.
3.2 Recommendations and Further Follow up Items
There is a need to continue to request to give priority to allocation of budget for maintenanceand management work and donor support is also needed.
3.3 Lessons Learned
The construction of a new road in an area, where there was no road existed before, has asignificant meaning economically and socially. In PNG where there is little progress inmotorization, the economic impact of the new road is spread gradually and thus the evaluationof such impact should be made around five years after the completion. For example, PMVs
are operated by private sector and there are more PMV operators or they are increasing thenumber of their services as they see the trend of the users. Because such impacts appear bydegrees, two years after the completion was not long enough to see the impact.
End of document

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