Lae wharf project set for next year

By CLEMENT KAUPA
THE Lae tidal basin project in Morobe will be delivered by the end of next year, Governor Kelly Naru and PNG Ports Corporation officials were told last week.
The main wharf would be extended by another 250m with an additional 50,000 tonne container storage berth and a 400m by 700m basin when completed.
Significant progress has been made on the first stage of the project.
A site visit last Friday showed that dredging work had been completed and the new port was taking shape.
“The expansion will increase our operational efficiency which is now at 60%,” a PNG Ports official said.
With the extension, Lae port can hold four to five large and medium-sized vessels, which is far more than the port’s present capacity of one to two large overseas ships.
Complemented by the new mobile gantry cranes and the larger stationary harbour cranes, wharf time for ships would drop drastically, the official said.