The Works Story: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

YESTERDAY...

Post-War Reconstruction

In the years following the Second World War, a post-war reconstruction programme led by the Australian administration saw the establishment of the Commonwealth Department of Works (Comworks). It was slated as the central agency for planning, building, and maintaining essential infrastructure.

Operating from Konedobu in the National Capital District (NCD), Comworks was tasked and focused on restoring transport networks, government facilities, and public buildings. These efforts helped Papua New Guinea prepare for its eventual transition to self-governance.

In 1969, Papua New Guinea hosted the Second South Pacific Games, marking a significant milestone in the country's development. The event catalysed the construction of the Games Village at 4-Mile in Port Moresby. Following the games, the Department relocated from its original headquarters in Konedobu to its current location, spanning from Murray Barracks to 4-Mile, enabling greater capacity for operations and administration.

Foundational Public Institution

In 1973, the transition to self-government marked a transformative era for Papua New Guinea. As the nation prepared for independence, the Department of Works emerged as one of the first public institutions, playing a critical role in building the infrastructure necessary for a modern state.

During this period of transition, key milestones included:

• The passage of the Road Maintenance Act and the Building Act, formalizing the legislative framework for national infrastructure development.
• The introduction of the first Roads and Bridges Specifications and the Building Code, which standardized engineering practices and construction standards across the country.
• The consolidation of operations with the relocation of the Design Office from Lae to Port Moresby, centralizing planning and design activities to support national priorities.

In 1975, Papua New Guinea's independence saw the Department emerge as a foundational pillar of the new government, maintaining its focus on roads, bridges, and public building projects. This period highlighted the Department's pivotal role in ensuring connectivity and supporting the nation's fledgling economy.

Evolution of Policy and Legislation

Department of Works and Highways Secretary, Gibson Holemba, recalls that the first legislation to establish the department was the Road Maintenance Act of 1971.

"That legislation gave the power to Works to build and maintain roads. It helped us establish Works units and government construction equipment across the country, and we trained our own staff. Most of the rural high schools, district police stations, and Correctional Institutional Services (CIS) infrastructure was built by our own staff," he recounts, saying that there was no major change in legislation, but Works Department functions were amended.

"In 1995, during the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Programme, the government made a decision that Works should outsource most of its projects to the private sector. The problem we had back then was that we hadn't created a construction industry yet. There were no Papua New Guinean-owned companies with the capacity to build roads, bridges, or buildings."

Secretary Holemba says this one decision had serious repercussions on the maintenance of the country's roads and public service infrastructure.

"It was a sudden reform without a proper transition period. We just sold out all our equipment and recouped our trust facilities. We didn't have the ability to maintain the roads ourselves. So, we started having a maintenance backlog. Roads that were due for maintenance, like patching potholes, grading, and fixing drains, began to deteriorate. Since then, the government budget has been insufficient for road maintenance, and we have lost more than 40 billion Kina worth of assets in our road network."

He explains that there was no recent amendment to the legislation until 2020.

"We rebuilt the 1971 legislation and the 1973 road regulations, and the Road Act came into being. This act delegates responsibility to provincial and district administrations to provide funding under their DSIPs and PSIPs for road maintenance. We identified them as road authorities for those districts and provincial roads, while the national roads remain with the National Department of Works."

This policy change also created the Road Fund under the Road Authority Act.

"The Road Authority Act of 2023 rebuilt the NRA Act and established the Road Fund for fund management and collection of road-related fees from vehicle registrations, fuel levies, and driver licensing. All these fees, which the Road Traffic Authority and Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) now collect, have been put into the Road Fund to be used for road maintenance. This is a dedicated fund for road maintenance purposes, which will ease the burden on the government budget and allow them to focus more on social services. Currently, the government budget funds both maintenance and capital works, which is why we have too many activities without a good financing arrangement," Secretary Holemba explains.

TODAY...

Connecting Papua New Guinea

Launched in 2020, the Connect PNG Program (2020–2040) is the Department of Works and Highways' most ambitious initiative to date. It is designed to build over 16,000 kilometers of roads and establish strategic economic corridors across the nation by linking isolated rural communities to major urban and economic centers.

The Connect PNG Act was legislated specifically for implementation, with a financing arrangement for 5.6% of the national budget to be dedicated to the Connect PNG loan.

"Unfortunately, this legislation is subject to the Treasury's cash flow. If the Treasury has enough cash, they can fund up to 5.6%, which is the bare minimum. Unfortunately, the amount of cash flow from the Treasury has been insufficient, and they have been underfunding the program since its inception four years ago."

Secretary Holemba says the Connect PNG program is a good investment program designed to unleash the economic potential of the country.

"It covers from the northern tip to the southern tip, from Daru to Vanimo, and from Telefomin down to Kopiago, and all our small islands — East and West New Britain, Manus, and New Ireland. The Connect PNG Act was legislated to ensure that the successive governments over the next 20 years would be committed to this cause and continue to upgrade and connect our people. This is part of our National Road Network Strategy 2018–2038, which has two streams: the first is to maintain and sustain the existing network, and the second is to expand and develop the network. The Connect PNG program is doing both."

He explains that the Department is now reviewing the targets and priorities of the government, since Connect PNG has shifted the priorities of road network development.

"We are doing an amendment to the current financing strategy to see how we can best develop a financing arrangement to implement this policy."

Compliance in Building

In relation to the Building Act, the DoWH has now established 21 provincial building boards across the country. These functions have been delegated back to the provinces to ensure compliance in building infrastructure, making sure they meet safety and engineering standards.

Secretary Holemba says the Department recognises that many new structures do not meet DoWH standards.

"We are now working on an amendment to the Building Act to better regulate the building industry. Our building infrastructure is in a deplorable state, and many new structures are substandard. So, we need to have proper oversight of this process. I am also working on amending the Building Act and the Road Act to make sure they address the current needs of our people," he says.

Recovering Lost Road Network Assets

The years following the World Bank Structural Adjustment Programme saw serious neglect of the country's road infrastructure. Secretary Holemba says this is the Department's medium-term focus.

"I am reviewing the National Road Network Strategy and building a road network recovery plan. That will be our next medium-term plan to recover the 21 billion Kina in lost road network assets due to a lack of maintenance. The challenge is to recover that lost asset value back to good condition. Once a policy is approved by Cabinet it will warrant us to amend the legislation. Policy drives legislation: that is the approach we are taking."

TOMORROW...

Vision for the Next 50 Years

Secretary Holemba is not oblivious to the historical accomplishments and missteps of the first 50 years of nationhood. While there is much that cannot be rebuilt to what they were before the reforms of 1995, he is steadfast in his confidence that with more innovative planning, Papua New Guinea can realise the true value of its engineering graduates.

"I sit in this office as a very proud Papua New Guinean, and I wear two hats: Secretary for this Department, and President of the Institute of Engineers in this country. I have a big responsibility to ensure the government's reform agenda is ready to take us through the next 50 years. My challenge is to reform the Department to make sure we capture future prospects and ensure our people are fully accessible by road."

As an engineer, he is working on the IEPNG Act to increase the role of engineers and their professional conduct.

"We are a part of the Washington Accord. My vision for the next 50 years is focused on our human resources. I believe that if we can get the engineers graduating from Unitech to be assets and not liabilities, we can drive the development agenda. Many of our engineering graduates have an attitude problem: they are not able to go to remote parts and serve. Some are reluctant, complain a lot, and don’t put in the time to serve the country."

Mr. Holemba says a recently signed memorandum of understanding with Unitech is now seeing the hosting of a master’s course.

"I am reviewing the curriculum to develop our internal Graduate Development Program. The Civil Training Center has been left unattended for the last 15 years, but I am reviving it to institute applied training programs for all my engineers. Before they go to a project site, they need to tick all the boxes to be qualified as a project engineer or manager. We will also develop skills training and professional training for all our staff. In the next 50 years, we will have competent people who can take on the challenge. Succession planning was a major issue that was lacking, especially for the Department of Works."

"When I came into this office, we had a lot of very experienced senior staff. On the 15th of this month, we will be holding an event to thank those who have served the longest. Our longest-serving officer has served for 53 years in the Department of Works. When they exit, they take with them the knowledge and experience they've acquired over the last 50 years."

"My challenge is to prepare the next generation to take on these roles. So, for the next 50 years, I am focused on preparing good engineers, technical people, architects, and surveyors. It is about the right people, the right policies, and the right funding. If we have that, we will have no problems with our road network in the future."