Highway starts from Lae to Hela, says Nali

WORKS Minister Michael Nali says the Okuk or Highlands Highway goes all the way to Hela and Southern Highlands from Lae.
It does not end in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, he clarified.
Komo-Margarima MP Manasseh Makiba queried in Parliament about the highway.
“Reliable sources within the Works Department as well as National Planning have said that the Highlands Highway starts in Lae and stops at Mt Hagen and not to Enga, Hela and Southern Highlands,” Makiba said.
Nali said that was misleading.
“The highway starts from Lae, in Morobe, to Mt Hagen ,in the Western Highlands, and to Togoba Junction where it splits into Enga and Porgera and on the left it goes to Mendi, to Kauga Erave and to Angia and Nipa-Kutubu and Tari-Pori. It has yet to reach Kopiago,” he said.
He said the road from the Togoba turnoff to Wara Kagul was in good condition.
“But from Wara Kagul up to Walume, the condition is not good so we are putting that section of the road under tender for maintenance and upgrading. Tenders have already come out so the contract should be awarded to fix that section of the road,” Nali said.
“From Mendi to Nipa is also in bad condition and the Works Department is looking into it. Nipa to Tari is the worst. This is in the worst section right now so we are looking into this section but it depends on the availability of funds.”