Connecting highways will take time, official says

CONNECT Papua New Guinea through national highways is not a programme that can be done within a year and will take time, effort and resources, says a senior department official.
Department of National Planning and Monitoring deputy secretary Michael Kumung said this regarding the stages of the work for the project to rehabilitate the country’s road networks.
He said the programme would require planning and coordination on a large scale and management over several years but the result would see the country benefit greatly in terms of road infrastructure and connectivity.
Kumung said work was in progress for East New Britain and West New Britain road links.
A first transnational highway from Lae, Morobe, through Gulf and on to Central had seen work start from 10-Mile in Lae and work was being done on the road to Bulolo.
Kumung said the programme also involved connecting the Sepik provinces to the rest of Mamose.
He said connectivity was the priority to connect all isolated districts and communities in the country. “We want to connect Central to Milne Bay, ENB and WNB and this will open up our country to growth.”