FUEL outlets in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville have completely dried up, leaving PMV owners and road construction companies no choice but to ground their machineries.
Those also affected include passengers from other parts of Bougainville, who could not travel to Buka town to access vital services such as banking and telecommunication.
PMV owners from as far as Buin, Siwai and Bana in the south and Kieta, Wakunai and Tinputz in the northern region at the weekend said they could not transport cargoes and passengers to Buka and Arawa as there was no fuel.
“There is no fuel in Buin, Arawa and now we could not find any fuel in Buka also. The place has completely dried up,” veteran highway driver Peter Sikonu said.
Over the weekend PMVs from all over mainland Bougainville could be seen queuing up at one of the only fuel stations at Kokopau.
Directors of a leading road construction company South Bougainville Engineering Limited, currently upgrading feeder roads in the Buin, Siwai and Bana districts told The National that by this week they will ground their equipment.
The fuel shortage problem stemmed from the recent decision by the National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) to decommission all the vessels that frequent the waters of Bougainville with cargoes including fuel.
The recent decommissioning of the Bougainville Sea Transport, Coastal Shipping and Agmark Shipping vessels is now taking its toll on parts of the island region.
The vessels have been the “saviour” for the islanders by transporting food supplies, materials and fuel.
Authorities on the region including the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) are bracing for the worse as at the moment all the vessels are not cleared by the NMSA to start operating again.
It is understood the ABG Trade and Industry Minister Joseph Watawi had already written a letter to the NMSA chairman and vessel owners.