Firm suspends work over safety of its employees

CONSTRUCT Oceanic Ltd who is responsible for the construction of the Goilala Highway has suspended its operations indefinitely for the safety of its employees.
Managing director Sape Molumi said the company took the measure following the killing of Highlanders by the Goilalas along the Hiritano Highway last week.
“We have about four or five employees from the Highlands who are in our advance team, leading the work on the Goilala Highway, whom we are concerned about,” Molumi said.
“So normally with such incidents, we request the employer, the Department of Works in this case, to temporarily suspend work for our safety.”
He said the construction team were escorted back into Port Moresby by police yesterday.
Molumi said work on the highway, officially stopped today, awaiting the ethnic situation between the two factions to be settled by leaders.
“We will assess the situation, how it’s handled by the leaders and see if it’s safe to resume work,” he said.
Molumi said advance work which involved excavation and shovelling on the 110km stretch of the highway reached 48km, while 32km had been covered in levelling and gravelling.
“This is a very difficult road to work on and for proper rehabilitation, it would cost about K90 million,” he said.
“This project costs only K20 million so we can only do widening and opening up the road with some drainage and culverts and do only 150-200mm gravel to Tapini station.
“We’re now reaching rough terrain starting from 50km and beyond.”
Molumi said a further K10mil was allocated by the Government into next year’s budget for the road.