By SHEILA LASIBORI
THE construction of the 38m ramp at Kikiri in Oro province has been completed and is awaiting official opening.
The ramp was supposed to be 30m long but an additional 8m was added. It is 15m wide.
Provincial Works manager Lalio Erasi yesterday confirmed the work on the ramp, adding that a barge, mv Penguin had already berthed at the ramp soon after it was completed.
Mr Erasi also said some officers and workers from the PNG Defence Force’s engineering battalion would be flown into Kokoda station and Afore to carry out infrastructure work, especially on the construction of temporary crossings and accesses into Popondetta.
Since the disaster struck last Nov 14, Kokoda has remained cut off from Popondetta town because the bridges and sections of the road network were washed away by widespread flooding.
The provincial Works division is coordinating the infrastructure work.
Mr Erasi said the aim of the exercise was to quickly connect Oro Bay to Popondetta town because of the goods and equipment that needed to be shipped and transported to the province through the Oro Bay wharf.
Now the attention is being turned on the other areas including Kokoda.
“We are working from here (town) upwards (to Kokoda),” he said, adding the team was now at Hauga Bridge.
“Kokoda is still cut off and so we aim to reconnect Kokoda in the next five weeks,” he said.
He said they had gone up 30km on the Kokoda Highway from the town.
Meanwhile, the heavy rain last Tuesday night caused the Girua River water level rise, preventing early morning traffic from using the wet crossing.
Mr Erasi said the crossings were delayed until late yesterday morning when a bulldozer moved in and created the ford adequate for crossing.