Ambassador inspects road

 JAPANESE Ambassador Morio Matsumoto yesterday visited the Lae-Bukawa Road which Japan is helping to build.

He was accompanied by Japan International Cooperation chief representative Shigeru Sugiyama, officials from the Japanese Embassy and JICA, Morobe provincial administration and Labuta local level government president Paul Itama.

Matsumuto’s team stopped at Situm to watch the road work, before driving in as far as Tale village to see the progress of work. He stopped to talk to children and villagers about the road.

Matsumoto said road conditions in PNG remained poor due to inadequate improvement and maintenance by the Department of Works. “Therefore, the Japanese Government decided to provide the grant of 864 million Japanese yen (K23 million) for the project.

“The Japanese Government’s assistance was not only limited to road maintenance but also through conveying its skills to PNG people by providing training through classroom work, practical, and on-the-job training.”