Madang consultant wins bid to plan roads upgrade

By WALLACE KIALA
A LOCAL consultancy company has been engaged by the Madang provincial government to carry out the province’s strategic planning groundwork for infrastructure development projects over the next five years.
Last week, a representative from Capitaliser PNG Consultants (CPNGC) said it was honoured to have been offered the tender for more than K1.3 billion upgrade and redevelopment of major road projects in Madang.
These included the Raikos to Saidor and Middle Ramu road maintenance, Sumkar district road upgrading, Usino-Bundi trans-Gogol reroute road, Bogia district road maintenance and the Madang town road maintenance.
Meanwhile, in a statement that was included in the provincial administration’s acknowledgement by administrator Bernard Lange to CPNGC after awarding the contract, it was highlighted that infrastructure development was a way forward to empower the people in the rural areas of Madang.
“People empowerment would bring about rural development, poverty reduction and overall economic growth,” it said.
The need for better infrastructure including roads and bridges was to ensure that people had access to better health, education and economic services.
In the meantime, the overall objective of the project was to improve the government infrastructure services to international standard.
Three other major projects in line with this were the Madang international airport and Madang wharf upgrading to international status which were outside the proposed award of contract given to CPNGC but was part of the five-year strategy in the province’s transformation programme.
CPNGC’s Mesulam Kalu said he had lodged the project formulation document for the road projects with the Department of National Planning and Monitoring to secure funding under the medium term development plan.