Transport in Papua New Guinea

Transport in Papua New Guinea is mainly based around roads (the vast majority of which is unpaved) and air travel.

It is in many cases heavily limited by the mountainous terrain and copious amount of rainfall and frequent severe weather occurring in many locations, such as Lae.

The capital, Port Moresby, is not linked by road to any of the other major towns and many highland villages can only be reached by light aircraft or on foot.

One of the key recommendations of the 1964 World Bank mission was the creation of a new department to manage the development of all transport modes.

[1] While many of the World Bank mission's recommendations were much argued both locally and internationally, this proposal was widely accepted as it was clear that both political and economic advancement depended on greatly improved land, sea and air transport.

Where there are roads there are many privately operated Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs), mostly minivans, which function as unscheduled buses.

[10] In 2023, a line from Lae to Vanimo was proposed by Morobe Province Governor Luther Wenge[11] and Prime Minister James Marape with the goal of expanding the region’s agricultural export opportunities.

Import volumes exceed exports, resulting in increased shipping costs as the inbound leg compensates for empty capacity on the outbound journey.