Port Moresby as a metropolis

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Many people have complained on social media that the current government has focused on developing Port Moresby at the expense of other urban centers and rural areas. These complaints are true, we can see the tangible outcomes.

Many have gone to the extreme of posting the pictures of a bad road or a sick child, next to the picture of the prime minister. Others have compared the pictures with the pictures of the new facilities built for the APEC meeting. Their central argument is the government should have spent the money on addressing our health issues or fixed our rural roads. 

The principle of opportunity cost applies this is case. The O'Neill-Abel government is developing the city of Port Moresby at the expense of other urban and rural centers. This is because of the APEC Summit. The Australian and the Chinese government have both contributed a lot in order to transform Port Moresby into a metropolis.

I have an optimistic view of the development of Port Moresby as a metropolis. I believe the O'Neill-Abel government has made the right decision to develop Port Moresby in comparison to other geographical areas and other sectors like health.
My view is in line with the evolution of human societies. We cannot dispute the fact that throughout history different civilizations have created huge cities as population centers for commerce and industry.

We begin with the Italian city-states. During the days of the Medici family, the city of Florence was referred to as a republic. There were other large city-states like Venice and Rome. These city-states were the center for commerce and politics. 

Barcelona, Amsterdam, Lisbon, London and Paris were popular during the colonial period. Many of the wealth from the newly acquired colonies were shipped back home by the Europeans to build these cities. Gold, diamonds and other precious metals were used to build many iconic buildings in those notorious European cities.

Jerusalem during the biblical days was a large metropolis. The Romans had a governor stationed there to oversee the region of Judea. Many commercial activities and technological developments occurred within the walls for the city.  

Edo was a little sleepy town which transformed into a huge political and cultural city. Tokugawa Ieyasu played a pivotal role in transforming the city when he established the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603. By the mid-eighteenth century the population was over a million. When the Tokugawa Shogunate ended, the Emperor moved from Kyoto to Edo and later named it Tokyo.

The story of Edo is similar to Port Moresby. For me, Peter O'Neill is like Tokugawa Ieyasu. His government has transformed the city of Port Moresby into a political, cultural and economic center. Edo changed because of aggressive public works including land reclamation, new canals and water supply systems. The same things are happening in Port Moresby. 

Furthermore, historians say the the story of Japan's economic development started during the Edo period. The pre-conditions for later industrialization and modernization were created internally during this period. These are the pre-conditions that were generated:
  1. Political unity and stability
  2. Agricultural development in terms of both area and productivity
  3. Development of transportation and the existence of nationally unified markets
  4. The rise of commerce, finance and the wealthy merchant class
  5. The rise of manufacturing (food processing, handicraft, etc)
  6. Industrial promotion by central and local governments 
  7. High level of education
We now have companies working on developing agriculture in terms of both area and productivity. For example, the Innovative Agro Industries based outside of the city has worked well with farmers to source fresh vegetables for the market.  

China has funded roads in the city including the new road to the national parliament house. The improvement in the transportation network internally should now be complemented by external links. The city needs to be connected with other provinces in order to maintain a good supply of fresh organic vegetables to the market. 

Onion farmers in the northern part of Simbu need to transport all their bags of dried onion bulbs to the big market in Port Moresby. Internally, the road from Gembogl to Kundiawa is in top condition. China Harbour Engineering Company with funding from the Asian Development Bank has improved the condition of the road. 

Last week, I had really big and juicy asparagus for dinner. The asparagus was from Gembogl. The vegetable also grows well in Western Highlands. It is sold on a daily basis at the Mount Hagen town market. The fresh produce will look good on the menu of any one of the big hotels in Port Moresby.

The challenge now is the external road link to Port Moresby. The rural population in different parts of the country have the most important capital which is land. A vital road link to a huge metropolis like Port Moresby will will make farming an attractive vocation.   

The soon to be completed Erave-Kikori road is promising. The Wau-Malalaua road is another important proposed project. Both road networks will make Port Moresby an affordable city stocked with fresh organic vegetables.

The urban population has adopted a lifestyle that is similar to a modern metropolis like Sydney. We have people going to the cinema on the weekends or weekdays. We have sporting activities happening in the various sporting grounds.We have people eating out and eating Western style fast food or cuisine. This is indicative of a growing middle class.

The ingredients for making a pizza, a burger or a bowl of salad can be sourced from local farmers in the Highlands region to compete with what is imported, and what is grown in green houses in Port Moresby by Innovative Agro Industries or City Pharmacy Limited. This will have an impact on the price of a pizza, a burger or a bowl of salad.

The changes in our metropolis has created many job opportunities for people of different educational backgrounds. This pull factor will slowly contribute to the growth of the city's population. The growth of the metropolis will influence the growth of other urban and rural areas around the country.    
As such, if many of us see the growth of Port Moresby from this view then it will help us develop a positive mindset about the changes. Edo grew at the expense of other villages. Edo grew because of Tokugawa Ieyasu's decision to make the village his capital. Hence, PNG is not alone, many other countries went through similar experiences.  

To conclude, I reiterate that the development of Port Moresby into a large metropolis like Tokyo, New York or Sydney is a step in the right direction. We need to question how those of us living in other centers and rural areas can benefit from this growth. In other words, we all need to unite politically behind this current government and support their plan to develop Port Moresby.

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