Plans to reopen Kandep airstrip

By MALUM NALU
REOPENING of the disused Kandep airstrip with the support of National Airports Corporation (NAC) is one of several projects intended for revival in this remote and tribal war-torn area of Enga.
Kandep MP and Civil Aviation Minister Alfred Manase announced this to hundreds of people in Kandep on Saturday.
Other major projects include building of the long-overdue and controversial Wasa Bridge to Hela, a second road access to Mendi apart from the Mendi-Kandep Road, an upgraded health centre with plans in the pipeline for a district hospital and upgrading of Kandep High School facilities among others.
Manase said funding to upgrade the Kandep airstrip would come from the second phase of NAC’s Civil Aviation Development Programme (Cadip) funded by the Asian Development Bank.
“It will cost about K3 million to fence and get it fixed,” Manase said.
The second phase of Cadip will focus on rebuilding rural airstrips.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill promised at Kandep last year while campaigning for his People’s National Congress Party candidate Manase that the airstrip would be reopened.
This is welcome news as the airstrip has not been used for the last 20 years.
The people of Kandep have had to rely on air services at nearby Mendi in Southern Highlands and Wapenamenda in Enga.
Manase said NAC had allocated K200,000 which was used to clean the airstrip.