Burst lines upset Eda Ranu

Main Stories

By HELEN TARAWA
Eda Ranu, the utility company responsible for water and sewerage in Port Moresby, should be consulted for any new design or plan for roads in the city, managing director Henry Mokono says.
Mokono made the call following damage to some water mains during the construction of the Champion Parade Road in the Port Moresby Central Business District area.
He said National Capital District Commission (NCDC) failed to engage with Eda Ranu that had resulted in the problem which had now cost Eda Ranu about K600,000 to fix.
“As a company, most of our assets are underground, we have blue prints and records of where our pipelines are in our network around the city,” he said.
“So for NCDC to work on new roads or build or upgrade roads, the simplest thing is to engage with our engineers.
“The first stage of engineering design of new roads it is the responsibility of NCDC to engage with our engineers before undertaking these major constructions.
“We’ve seen a lot of road developments, the city has changed, every time there is a new development taking place, new road constructed, Eda Ranu as a utility has never been consulted.
He said in every road construction in the city, NCDC should have the courtesy to talk Eda Ranu. For that matter all other utility companies – including PNG Power and Telikom.
“There is a major problem that we have lived with now for some time. One classical example is the Koura Way from Tokarara to Hanuabada.  We constantly have the contractors ripping off our water mains and sewerage lines. It’s a design problem from the start.
“We’ve been told that it’s our responsibility and we are not shying away from this, the road at Champion Parade is affected, it’s right in the CBD and as a responsible utility company, we will fix this road at Eda Ranu’s cost.