SHP focus on hosting Games

By PETER WARI
SOUTHERN Highlands Governor William Powi says the provincial government remains upbeat in delivering next year’s Papua New Guinea Games on time despite the coronavirus pandemic and lack of funding.
He said it would cost about K150 million to deliver the project, with the national and the provincial governments providing K12 million and K8 million respectively so far.
“But with that amount of money, it is imminent that the province may not complete construction of the sports facilities to host the Games on time,” Powi said.
“But we will not panic due to lack of funding, we will continue to build what we can and make sure the Games are hosted.”
Powi said the PNG Sports Foundation would assess whether the province was capable of hosting the Games based on the readiness of the facilities.
“If we’ve exhausted all our resources and can’t move forward, then other provinces may host the Games,” he said. “But for now, we’re remaining upbeat and focused on building the facilities.
“Either way, if we do not host the Games, we will have upgraded and built some sporting facilities for our youths and students for the future.
“We are looking forward to upgrading existing facilities and building new ones, especially in schools, to improve our infrastructure for the long term.”
Powi said the main stadium was under construction at Oiyarep, Imbonggu, while plans were underway to have volleyball and basketball courts at Nipa station.
He said work was underway in all districts in the province to prepare for the 21 sports that make up the Games.