Maritime is an important sector and the government, through the Department of Transport, will focus on that next year.
Transport Minister Wesley Nukundj said this is because out of the country’s 22 provinces, 15 of those are maritime provinces that have seen little attention on sea transportation over the years.
The ministry has had no consistency in terms of its leadership, seeing a total of five different ministers in the last term of government, and the minister sees this as a challenge in managing the three modes of transport.
Following the successful hosting of the 10th APEC transport meeting, the department has been allocated K40 million to the maritime sector in the 2018 budget.
This will cover the development of four wharfs in Vanimo, Wewak, Manus and Kikori in Western Province.
He said population wise, the interest of those in the maritime provinces have been surpassed and he wants to ensure those in the maritime provinces have access to transport.
“We are the leading department in the transport sector and I am determined to provide that service that people need the most,” Nukundj said.