K20mil for roads to help coffee growers

The Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) will be restoring nine feeder roads at a cost of K20 million.
The CIC, through its productive partnerships in agriculture project (PAPP), will restore 47km of roads.
These rural roads are being improved under the CIC-PPAP infrastructure and market access component to benefit coffee farmers and the rural communities.
The recent agreement signing was for the 5.1km Kapalku-Ngumbkora access road in North Waghi, Jiwaka, costing K1.7mil and will be handled by Lorma Construction Ltd.
The road serves more than 5000 people from eight villages between Kapalku and Ngumbkora.
According to CIC, exact costs of the other eight feeder roads are yet to be formally registered.
Closing and opening of bids for two other roads were conducted at the Central Supply and Tenders Board (CSTB) office in Port Moresby last Thursday.
These were for the 12.89km Yasubi-Takai Purosa feeder road in the Okapa, Eastern Highlands, and the 4.5km Avi Market-Kamdika village feeder road in Anglimp-South Wahgi, Jiwaka.
CIC-PPAP senior procurement officer Theresa Witi said applications for road work followed an exhaustive screening process, enforcing CSTB’s stringent procurement and tendering guidelines. “This is the PPAP coffee approach to ensure good governance and accountability is respected in the tendering processes,” she said.
The contract signing for the third 5km road from Sigri-Girabw in North Waghi, Iwaki, is expected to be done this month.
Meanwhile, work is progressing well for a 5km Nombia-Bibiori road in remote Obura-Wonenara, Eastern Highlands.