WNB projects going well

Islands

DEVELOPMENT projects in West New Britain funded by the Asian Development Bank are progressing well.
These include 150km Lovo hydro-power transmission lines connecting Bialla to Kimbe and the building of 12 bridges along the New Britain Highway.
Last week officials from Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and Bank of Papua New Guinea Governor Loi Bakani visited Kimbe.
ADB infrastructure specialist Hussain Haider said he was pleased with the progress, especially on the transmission line from Lovo Hydro connecting Bialla to Kimbe town which should be completed by June next year.
The contractor Angelique is working on the 150km high voltage 56KVA transmission lines at a total cost of K80 million.
Haider said under this project, ADB would connect 1000 homes along the transmission lines pathway for free and also rehabilitate Lake Hargy to produce a maximum 1.5 megawatts which will be fed into the Bialla and Kimbe transmission lines under a piggy back grant.
ADB is also funding 12 bridges totaling K84 million which are expected to be completed at the same time as the transmission lines.
He said the grant of K30 million was from the governments of New Zealand and Japan which is being shared with three provinces Northern, Bougainville and WNB.
The delegation expressed satisfaction with the progress of works on the ADB-funded projects in WNB.
Governor Sasindran Muthuvel said he was also satisfied with the visit by officials from the international financial institutions.
“It is a milestone achievement for WNB and I thank the people and governments of New Zealand and Japan for their support for rural electrification in Papua New Guinea,” he said.
Muthuvel, who accompanied the team, thanked them for choosing to visit WNB where they discussed various development issues.
IMF’s deputy chief of Asia Pacific department Clinton Shiells, said the visit showed them the challenges being faced in the province especially the increased cost of service delivery and logistical challenges.
For most of the team, it was their first visit to a province outside of Port Moresby and they were pleasantly surprised when they were treated to a traditional welcome ceremony upon arrival at Hoskins Airport.