Peer Review and Capacity Building on APEC Infrastructure Development and Investment: Papua New Guinea

This project supports the implementation of the mechanism known as ‘Peer Review and Capacity Building on APEC Infrastructure Development and Investment’. The peer review is conducted on Papua New Guinea (PNG), which becomes the fourth reviewed economy following the Philippines (2017), Viet Nam (2018) and Indonesia (2019).

The project objectives are: 1) conduct peer review on the policies and practices in PNG, including relevant laws, regulations and guidelines relating to the planning, selection and implementation process of transport infrastructure projects, and 2) identify the capacity building needs of PNG based on the results of the peer review. The review shows that PNG is equipped with the high-level legal and policy frameworks that enable the development of quality infrastructure. It recommends seven priority areas for capacity building for PNG, including adding rigour to the project review process, adding a process to the project cycle to deal with unsolicited bids, further strengthening the incorporation of life cycle costs into projects, and strengthening government procurement and the funding aspects of infrastructure. The recommendations take into consideration the significant and long history of support from the development partners to PNG.