Madang road upgrade soon

 By JAYNE SAFIHAO

MADANG will have a four-lane road once the National Executive Council decides who will build it.

South Korean company Sun, Moon and Stars (SMS) Engineering has been engaged by the Madang provincial administration to complete the design and costing.

The design includes having proper pedestrian walkways, curbs, proper drainage system, sloping ground and junction adjustment, developing a park, road extensions, developing u-type gutters, transferring street lights, and installing new circular intersections including the construction of three new bridges.

The Nabasa-Madang airport access road, which had been cleared and marked during former Governor James Gau’s tenure, was never constructed as funding earmarked for the bridge access and given to a local contractor, had disappeared.

The Wagol and LBC bridges will be extended and raised to counter rising waters during heavy rain.

The draft design for the roads has been completed and given to the Department of Works for verification while a decision for a contractor is yet to be made.

The provincial government’s works director Hood Kasas confirmed this, saying he had yet to source funding from the National Planning Department but thought it would be in the best interest of the province to retain SMS Engineering as they were in the province and ready to start work.

“This is a pivotal project as getting such a massive infrastructure right for the first time in this province is something that we have been lacking at for decades and this Korean company has an impressive record and we believe that they will do a better job,” he said.

“We perceive many changes, an influx of people and vehicles and having this project started soon is one important agenda.”