New highway world class: PM

Main Stories

By HELEN TARAWA
PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill yesterday described the K167 million Reuben Taureka Highway as “world-class” and the best in the country.
He opened the 11.2km road which runs from 6-Mile to the Bautama, Central.
O’Neill said the Government had delivered a world-class highway which opened up the future of the infrastructure development in the country.
“This is a beautiful road that we are going to enjoy for many years. It is built to a standard much higher than any other roads in the country,” he said.
“We have showed how a world class project can be delivered on time and within budget.”
The highway was named after Sir Reuben Taureka, a medical doctor.
He was trained as a doctor at the Fiji School of Medicine in Suva in the early 1950s.
Sir Reuben, a former Abau MP in Central, was one of the ministers in the first PNG government from 1972 to 1975. He was the first nominated Member of the Legislative Council in 1961. O’Neill said the road from 6-Mile to Bautama had always been known as the Dogura Road.
“We are now renaming this particular section of the road to appreciate our forefather who has done a lot of sacrifice for you and I to be here today,” he said.
“It is important that we name infrastructure and roads such as this to recognise their contribution to their people and the nation.”