Chamber slams Lands dept

National

The Department of Lands and Physical Planning should be put under intense scrutiny for the many negative reports about it, Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer David Conn says.
He made the call following concerns raised in relation to the new multi-storey development which sits over an existing open line drain.
In support of National Capital District city manager Leslie Alu’s comment on the development taking place on Wards Road opposite the new Star Mountain Hotel Development in Hohola, Conn said the chamber raised this issue several months ago.
“We understood that a ‘stop work notice’ had been placed on the work as the diversion created by the builder will be totally inadequate to cope with the water flow that emanates from that part of Hohola and Tokarara,” he said.
“The outflow from the newly restricted drain is likely to take out parts of Wards Road and create issues for the new hotel.”
He said in 2018 that property would be populated by guests and officials visiting Port Moresby for Apec 2018.
“It would appear the developer has asked for the drain reserve to be included in their title and someone quite illegally, has acquiesced in Lands Department,” he said.
“The cadastral survey clearly shows this to be a major drain structure for the area. Any development should have been set back behind the line of the drain.
“The developer is being allowed to steal vital public infrastructure from the residents of that area and the city.
“Once again we see the dead hand of the Lands department impacting, negatively, on the development of the nations’ capital. A thorough clean out, from the top down, is required.”