Police station in Hagen gets facelift

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
THE Mt Hagen police station, built during the colonial period in Western Highlands, will receive a major facelift.
Provincial police commander Supt Kaiglo Ambane managed to secure K1.2 million from the national planning office to fund the construction.
The building is on the verge of collapsing after termites started eating away the timber frames and plywood.
He has engaged two contractors to work on the renovation of the main administration building, cells and duty counter.
He said police operation had to be scaled down somewhat while the construction was under way.
Ambane said the two contractors were Jiwaka Builders and National Building and Electrical.
He said the work should be completed in three months and would give the whole office a new look.
He, however, needs more money to further extend the building and cells.
Ambane said Mt Hagen was the regional centre to the Porgera gold mine and multi-billion kina gas project in Hela and Southern Highlands.
He said the cell blocks were not big enough to hold too many people at any one time.
He said due to the large number of people coming into the city, including criminals, he needed to build extra cells.