Conn queries length of time for roadworks in city

 By MALUM NALU

THE Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about how long major road projects in Port Moresby will take.

Chief executive officer David Conn said this while welcoming major road projects in the city funded by the national government and supported by National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop.

“The big question now for many of our business houses will be how long the actual work will take as the disruption and detours are a necessary part of repairing the city’s crumbling infrastructure,” he said.

“It is up to the city authorities to work proactively with the contractors on traffic movement plans, appropriate road furniture, signage and lighting, etc, at night so that traffic continues to flow in the city.

“We have to say it is also incumbent on authorities such as the department of works to make sure work is done to appropriate standards and that the government and the people of the city get their money’s worth. 

“Too often we have seen work done at great expense, which has not stood the test of time or traffic in the city and crumbled before our very eyes.”

Conn also welcomed the creation of a “super committee” to fast-track these projects and make sure claims are dealt with swiftly and contractors receive payments on schedule. 

“This is an excellent idea, and surely a similar mechanism could be considered for the venue work on the Pacific Games which currently seems to be mired down in a bureaucratic morass,” he said.

“This is a great bonanza for the city and will dramatically improve the face of our city and provide alternative routes around existing bottlenecks just in time for the 2015 Pacific Games.

“But business still has to go on and hopefully these projects can be completed on schedule and to good standards with as little disruption to current business operations in the city.

“The businesses in the 6-Mile area have been particularly hard hit with the delays in completing the 5-6 Mile sections. One business has calculated their ‘walk-in’ business has fallen 20% in the last 12 months.

“The project to redo the Gordons Industrial Area will bring a long-awaited relief to operators there, who, while some of the major tax contributors to national and city coffers have had to put up with absolutely appalling road platforms, in the heart of our city, for many years now.”