 Specialised airport lighting was installed by DCA engineers Byron Sullivan and Frank Martinelli.The airport in Lae was operating at the same time as Nadzab but business was significantly lost when the new airport complex became fully operational in 1977.Fierce political squabbling over the pros and cons of Lae and Nadzab continued until 1982, when, in an unsolved mystery, the Lae airport terminal was burned down.