Bad highway ‘hurting’ business

THE Road Transport Association has again raised concern over the state of the Highlands Highway.
President Jacob Luke said the highway had gone from bad to worse and needed the immediate attention of the government.
He said businesses relying on the highway continued to suffer because of it poor condition.
Association members are mostly from trucking companies who depended on the Highlands Highway.
The highway was recently cut off at 3-Mile outside Goroka after a culvert was washed away by the flood. “The Highlands Highway remains the nerve centre of Papua New Guinea and the business community,” Luke said.
He said the longer the highway reconstruction took, the more businesses would suffer.
Luke said the Department of Works in Port Moresby continued to paint a positive picture of the highway but the situation on the ground was different.
“We appreciate the continued announcements in the daily newspapers by people in authority about the billions of kina to maintain the highway,” Luke said.
He said the challenge was to translate these grand announcements into practical developments on the ground for highway users.
Luke said as taxpayers, all citizens and businesses had the right to demand better roads.