K1.8m for new Gulf police HQ

By JUNIOR UKAHA
A NEW Gulf provincial police headquarters costing K1.8 million is under construction in Kerema town.
Provincial police commander Reuben Giusu said the building, constructed from brick, steel and glass, when completed would become a landmark for the province. 
He said funding for the project came from ExxonMobil, the developer of the PNG-LNG project, after a submission by the police.
He said work on the building started on Oct 9 and should take two months to complete.
He said Gulf was strategically located between Central and Southern Highlands and was crucial to the success of the LNG project. He said police facilities needed to be upgraded to boost morale.
Giusu said V2 Works Ltd, a private contractor, and the provincial works branch were building the headquarters.
“Work is progressing well and the building is expected to be completed by December and be officially opened in January,” he said.
Kerema police station commander Insp Heni Vagi said the building was bigger compared to the old structure. It will house the commander’s office, the PSC’s office, a conference room, prosecutions, traffic, CID offices and an armoury.
Vagi said work was also underway to upgrade the Kerema police jail.
He said the old jail had the capacity to hold 10 inmates at any one time and the contractors were putting up new cell blocks to increase the capacity to up to 40 prisoners.
“The new cell blocks will comprise separate cells for females and juveniles,” he said.
Giusu said the jail rehabilitation was funded separately at a cost of K750,000.
He said police also bought 15 new M15 carbine assault machine guns for K640,000, two 40hp dinghies, two police stations and two police houses each costing around K25,000 for police in the Ihu and Baimuru districts.