WNB signs K1.9mil road contract

A K1.9 MILLION contract was signed last week and preparation are under way to start maintenance of the Mining junction to Atui road that will re-connect the northern and southern parts of West New Britain.
Maintenance work, which is expected to begin soon, was funded by Kandrian-Gloucester MP Tony Puana under the district services improvement programme.
Provincial supply and tenders board chairman and provincial administrator Steven Raphael said the tender of the road project came through the processes following technical evaluations done by the department of works in Kimbe.
Raphael said the main portions of the road was expected to be completed between six and eight months.
He announced that the national government had allocated K1.2 million for the maintenance of the Ubai to Amio road
Raphael said infrastructure was one of the major focus of the provincial government apart from health and education and the government was happy to work alongside Puana to deliver these long-awaited link-roads.
He said the three roads – Ubai to Amio road, Atui road and the Ubai to Bereme road – were important and strategic road projects that would allow accessibility to the people from the south coast to Kimbe as well as allow for corridor developments.
Puana said his office was focused on developing the livelihood of the people in his electorate.
He said this was a follow-up of the past funding of K380,000 funded through the Department of Works where the maintenance was carried out on the Ubai-Amio road.
The same Ubai to Amio road is now under the current K1.2 million finding which the government believes would connect a lot of very remote and untouched places and villages.
Puana said the opening of both portions of these link roads would enable people to travel to and from Kimbe.
It would cut off the normal route where people from south coast travel by boat and through logging roads to as far as Vovonga in the Pomio area during rainy periods.
They then travel to  Kimbe using logging roads.