Madang residents urged to be patient with road upgrades

National, Normal
Source:

The National,Wednesday18 January 2012

ACTING works manager Maling Ambranga is calling on Madang town residents to be patient with the road works being carried out.
The town roads, starting from Baidal Junction to the main wharf and others that are the responsibility of the Madang urban local level government, have been compacted with karanas (coral stone) and left to the mercy of rain.
Ambranga said what people must understand was that Madang had only one qualified road construction company and it was racing against time to seal the airport to SP Bridge – up the north coast road.
 “Residents must understand that what is being done is just compacting work which must allow for settling before any sealing work is done.
“They must understand that funding is a problem,” he said.
“Works has not been given enough funding.
“The kind of work that will be carried out for the roads will require more than K10m, which should be from either the provincial or national purse.
“The Provincial Supply and Tenders Board executive officer, Philip Soya, is in Port Moresby pursuing
the next K7 million tranche of the K10 million given by Governor Gau.”
Ambranga said while that was in progress residents should refrain from making negative comments on work
being done as the contractor was helping in shortfalls by the provincial works department.
He gave the Handy Mart road junction as an example where compacting was done by
the contractor with money they “just did not have”.