Can China help PNG build roads?

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The video above explains the One Belt One Road Initiative. It is a foreign policy designed to promote cooperation between China and many other countries.

PNG has signed the One Belt One Road Initiative Memorandum of Understanding as per the report on the China Daily:
PNG has not only signed the BRI MOU but also joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). As such, I agree with President Xi that PNG is stepping into a new frontier.

PNG has a huge potential in agriculture but lacks capital and infrastructure. For example, the highlands provinces can grow vegetables well. Provinces like Western Highlands grow well potatoes and cabbages. The potatoes and cabbages can be cheaply transported to the growing city of Port Moresby if there is a road link.

The town of Alotau has been earmarked as a tourism hub. Apart from talking about the money that the tourists will bring in, and the sites that they will visit, we also need to think about the food experience. 

Alotau and the whole province of Milne Bay does not have the capacity to supply fresh vegetables to all its hotels, lodges, motels and guesthouses. The province does not grow in abundance vegetables like potatoes, cabbages, carrots and many others.

At the moment it is costly to transport via air and sea. A road network connecting southern provinces to the highlands will open the door for an increase in commercial activities because it will reduce the cost of transportation.  

The case of the 58 bags of rotten cabbages in Lae confirms the transportation difficulty. With a road link farmers like John Yap can transport their cabbages directly to Port Moresby using transport owned by Kurunga Farming Company.

Coastal provinces like Gulf, Central and Milne Bay can take advantage of the road link by supplying salt water fish up to the highlands provinces. At the moment fish is costly compared to imported lamb from New Zealand or Australia.

Mount Hagen city is the epicenter for commercial activity in the highlands. People from the provinces of Hela, Southern Highlands, Enga, Jiwaka and Simbu travel to Mount Hagen city to access goods and services. Thus, a fish shop selling fresh fish from the southern coast in the city will no doubt attract customers.

Not only fish but coconut, betel nut, mustard, taro and other coastal vegetables will help put money in the hands of simple farmers in the rural areas. Fruits like mango, custard apples, starfruit and others that grow only in the coastal region can be transported to markets up in the highlands provinces. 

I hope the government make roads and bridges a priority and get the Chinese government to fund major road projects under the BRI via the AIIB. These vital infrastructure will stimulate economic growth and the growth of SMEs. All in all, it will be an impetus for domestic trade between the provinces leading to more opportunities for all.

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