Nov. 25 -{Global Construction Review} (GCR) reported on Nov. 24 the signing of an agreement between China Railway Group and Papua New Guinea to build a roadway system that is estimated to cost $4 billion. Apart from the agreement on the roadway system, government of Papua New Guinea has signed on Nov. 20 a series of Memorandums of Understanding with the government of China and the China Railway company that will deliver a number of new infrastructure projects in the Highlands, P.N.G.’s Prime Minister’s office reported.
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said the new projects will have direct positive impacts on the lives of people in Eastern and Western Highlands provinces. These projects will enhance agriculture, roads and water supply in parts of the Highlands, will improve lives and help people to be more active in the economy. “China is one of our strongest development partners, and this direct investment is an example of the huge confidence that China and Chinese companies have in Papua New Guinea,” O’Neill said. “These projects are taking place as part of the One Belt, One Road initiative that is creating more efficient trade corridors between the Asia-Pacific and Western Asia.”
Papua New Guinea, with a population of about 8 million, is virtually bereft of transport infrastructure, partly due to the mountainous terrain. The country’s main road, the Highland Highway, is a single carriageway pocked with potholes, GCR wrote.
