Roads threaten project

 By ANDREW ALPHONSE 

BAD weather and the rapidly deteriorating state of the Highlands Highway will likely affect the delivery of the first shipment of the PNG LNG next year, says Komo-Margarima MP Francis Potape.

The bulk of the hydro-carbon projects in the K18 billion PNG LNG project is located in the district. 

Potape travelled by road from Lae in Morobe to Komo last weekend and saw several trucks loaded with LNG pipes stranded along the highway.

Potape said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was concerned about the condition of the highway and the Government was working to fix it. 

But its efforts have been hampered by the adverse weather conditions and the poor state of the road from Lae to Hela. 

He said he would again raise the poor state of the highway with Works and Implementations Minister and Imbonggu MP Francis Awesa and O’Neill. 

Potape stopped along the way and told the people that they must play their part by supporting the government and stop demanding unnecessary compensation payments when contractors come to repair the highway. 

He said the most affected portions were in the Southern Highlands and Hela where several trucks carrying LNG steel pipes and supplies were bogged down or went off the road.

The highway from Lae to Mendi was tar-sealed in some sections but several sections from the Kiburu turnoff in Mendi to Komo and Koroba needed immediate upgrading. This includes Tendon Hill in Nipa-Kutubu district, Woiya, Yambaraga, Hengeyano, Hiri and Ambua in Hela.