Work on Morobe’s Mambong Highway reaches Markham

The National National
Kaia Works staff levelling gravel on asphalt while sealing the Mambong Highway (Leron-Wantoat Road) on Thursday. Rigo MP and United Labour Party acting deputy leader Lekwa Gure witnessed this part of the sealing. – Nationalpic by LARRY ANDREW

WORK on the Mambong Highway (Leron-Wantoat Road), which is part of the Government’s Connect PNG programme, has reached Markham, Morobe.
Contractor Kaia Works is undertaking this project for K3 million.
Contract manager Luke Konia said they were working on 2.5km of the road to help bring about changes to the community.
Konia said 600 metres of the road had been sealed and work would continue, but, there were a lot of obstructions such as big rivers.
“Challenges we face are that Morobe has a lot of fast-flowing rivers and when it rains, it (rivers) brings in lots of debris,” he said.
“The duration (for work) was four months but with the Coronavirus (Covid-19), we’ve been stop-start.
“It took us about 10 months”
Former Markham MP Steven Mambong, who was president of the area authority in 1975, had initiated the project.
“This road is not for criminal activities, transporting of drugs or any other illegal activities,” he said.
“ It is for economic development – products like peanut, coffee, cocoa and garden produce – that we can sell to help our livelihood.”