Work starts on stadium in Hela

By PATRICIA KEAMO in Tari
WORK on construction for the Hela Wigmen Stadium in Tari, Hela, is underway with the project expected to be completed before the 2022 Digicel Cup season kicks off.
The stadium is expected to be the best in the Highlands, similar to the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby except on a smaller scale, and is co-funded by franchise owner Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) and Hela provincial government at a cost of K10 million.
Project manager John Wong, from builder Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCEC), said the stadium would take a year to build and he was confident it would be completed before the next season started. The stadium will include parking space, a VIP section, changing rooms, a mini club house and bleachers with the capacity to accommodate 5,000 spectators.
Wong said by next week the subcontractor – Tari Pori Development Corporation (TPTC) – would do the site clearance and levelling before CCECC started work on the foundation of the stadium.
“While TPTC work on the site clearance, the shipment of materials for the steel structure will arrive on July 20 with some of our manpower from China,” Wong said.