THE Hiritano highway between Epo and Kerema in the Gulf province will see its completion following the signing of contract No. NPC/19-0013 awarded to Dekenai Construction at the Government House recently.
The signing marks the remaining road that has yet to be sealed as part of Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project (RMRP) II funded by the World Bank.
Dekenai Construction was awarded K46,629,271.54 for the contract.
The Secretary for Works David Wereh was present to sign the contract on behalf of the department. The Governor of Gulf, Chris Haiveta was also present to witness the signing.
In appreciation for the continued support and effort in the sealing of the highway between his electorate and the nation’s capital, Governor Haiveta shared his thanks to acknowledge the work put in.
“We, the people in my electorate, are grateful that the remaining portion now between Kerema and Port Moresby will be sealed. I want to thank the Marape-Basil Government for continuing projects that are donor-funded, which is a low-hanging fruit for project implementation.”
“We will work with the contractor to ensure that we fast track the project, a 15-month project to seal about 15km of the remaining road left. So by the time its finished and we have a sealed road all the way from Port Moresby to Kerema, we can work towards creating economic development along this road corridor. Kerema town does not have land and so we intend to expand down towards where the project is set to take place.”
A monumental rehabilitation project that is set to see completion, its implementation is expected to commence soon now that the relevant parties have signed the contract.
Meanwhile, a second contract was also awarded to Dekenai during the signing as well, valued at K42,057,264.69, Contract No. NPC/19-0012, which focuses on the sealing and associated drainage works on the Coastal Highway from Bogia to Awar in Madang province.