Sharing Experience, Building Stronger Bridges – Training session by JICA Volunteer

What happens when more than 30 years of engineering experience from Japan meets Papua New Guinea's infrastructure challenges?

Together with his counterpart at Milne Bay Provincial Administration, JICA Volunteer Mr. Koji Nakanishi worked with engineers from the Department of Works and Highways (DoWH) to deliver a hands-on training on bridge and culvert maintenance from 4 to 5 August.

Combining local experience gained in Milne Bay Province with his experience in Japan, the training introduced preventive maintenance approaches and drone-assisted bridge inspections, emphasizing the shift from reactive maintenance to extend the lifespan of infrastructure, improve safety, and reduce long-term costs. Participants visited Laloki Bridge and Erima Flyover Bridge to put their new skills into practice with bridge inspection using drones.

“One of the things I learned and agreed was to detach gabion river training works to 20m and to grout the 100mm spacing with concrete. That's smart engineering works.” Steven Noah, Bridge Engineer

“I was fortunate to have participated in the emergency bridge inspection drill performed by JICA bridge expert. It was a really helpful and insightful drill as we learnt about identifying critical locations of the bridge structures for post- earthquake events. We were also told about making decisions on the closure of the bridge based on the severity of the damages. I appreciate it very much.” Fabian Pale, Bridge Engineer

“I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the training and found it beneficial overall. I would strongly encourage more training programs of this nature in the future, particularly those that are practical, technically relevant, and provide opportunities for PNG engineers and technical officers to learn from international experience and practices.’ Natasha Walo, Road Engineering

“Thank you to JICA and the organizers for organizing the training. The training was a new and very informative experience for me. Although there was a slight language barrier, I found the sessions engaging and valuable. I hope JICA will continue to organize more bridge design training opportunities in the future.” Kesian Tira, Bridge Engineering

“I would very much appreciate for the next training to capture load rating/limit inspection as explained during the training session where we would need to assess any bridge whether it be old or new so that it can carry heavy loads in an event a client wants to transport across the bridge without the bridge collapsing.” Junias Sorea, Bridge Engineer

JICA is proud to support PNG engineers in building the skills needed to maintain critical infrastructure for the future.