𝘡𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘮, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵, 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 — The Secretary for the Department of Works and Highways, 𝗠𝗿. 𝗚𝗶𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗮, has welcomed the successful completion and official opening of 𝟯𝟱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹-𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀 along the Highlands Highway under the 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 (𝗔𝗗𝗕)–𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 (𝗦𝗛𝗛𝗜𝗣) – 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝟮.
The bridges were officially opened by 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲, accompanied by 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗼, 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗻. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗹𝗶 𝗝𝗻𝗿 , along with several national leaders during a ceremony held at Zumim Primary School in Markham District, Morobe Province.
The ceremony marked the opening of the Zumim Bridge, the first completed structure among the newly constructed bridges located along the Highlands Highway corridor.
Among dignitaries present were 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙣. 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙗𝙤 𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙖, 𝘿𝙚𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙃𝙤𝙣. 𝙆𝙤𝙣𝙞 𝙄𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙣, 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙣. 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙢 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤, 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙠, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨.
Mr. Holemba said the 35 bridges stretch along the critical Highlands Highway corridor from Nadzab in Morobe Province to Kagamuga in Western Highlands Province, delivering a significant improvement in the safety, reliability and resilience of transport infrastructure along Papua New Guinea’s most important economic corridor.
“The completion of these permanent bridges represents a major milestone in the Government’s effort to modernise and strengthen the Highlands Highway, which serves as the backbone of Papua New Guinea’s economy,” Mr. Holemba said.
“These new dual-lane concrete bridges replace aging and temporary structures that have long posed challenges to the safe and efficient movement of vehicles and cargo along the corridor.”
Mr. Holemba said the bridges were constructed to withstand heavy traffic loads and extreme weather conditions, ensuring long-term durability and improved resilience for the highway network.
He noted that the Highlands Highway plays a vital role in connecting the Highlands region to coastal ports and markets, particularly supporting the transportation of agricultural produce such as coffee and fresh food supplies to major markets.
“The Highlands Highway remains the country’s most critical transport and trade route, supporting thousands of farmers, small businesses and industries that depend on reliable road access to move goods and services,” he said.
Mr. Holemba also acknowledged the continued partnership and financial support of the Asian Development Bank in delivering the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Programme, which aims to rehabilitate and modernise the 430-kilometre highway corridor linking Lae to the Highlands region.
He further acknowledged the work of the contractor Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), supervising engineers Korean Consulting International (KCI), and the Sustainable Highlands Highway Improvement Program Management Office led by Mr. Paul Nindi and his team for successfully delivering the first 35 bridges under Section 1 of the project.
Mr. Holemba also recognised the contribution of 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗿. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗵, who initiated the work that has now been completed to high engineering standards.
The bridges are designed with climate-resilient engineering standards and a projected service life of up to 200 years, ensuring long-term reliability for the people and industries that depend on the Highlands Highway.
Mr. Holemba urged local communities to take ownership of the infrastructure and help protect the significant national investment made by Government.
He also acknowledged the Pangu-led –Rosso Government for allocating funding to maintain the roads and bridges constructed under the Connect PNG Program.
“The completion of these bridges marks an important step forward in strengthening Papua New Guinea’s national transport infrastructure and supporting long-term economic growth and connectivity for our people,” he said.