Highlands Highway expanding

THE Highlands Highway is to be expanded to a four-lane freeway, Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Don Polye said last Friday, The National reports.

“It will be expanded in stages starting from the Lae-Nadzab section where survey, scoping and design work had commenced.

“Rehabilitation work will continue to Hela’s Koroba-Kopiago and Enga’s Porgera,” Polye said.

He said the government had spent between K700 million and K1 billion on rehabilitating the highway in the past five years.

“Given the highway’s economic significance, the government has given it top priority,” he said.

Polye said on-going maintenance on the highway was being undertaken by different companies funded by different donor agencies in collaboration with the government.

According to a presentation by National Road Authority Planning and Programming Unit manager John Kelly Kaio, there will be progressive rehabilitation conducted on different sections of the highway through the six provinces.

The details of the rehabilitation are:

* Morobe section from Lae city to Yung Creek (Morobe and EHP border) 163km maintained by Transport Sector Support Programme (TSSP);

* Eastern Highlands from Yung Creek to Magiro (EHP and Chimbu border) – 177km maintained by TSSP, Simbu government, national government funding through departments of Works,  National Planning and Treasury and Finance under the Highlands Highway rehabilitation programme (HHRP);

* Western Highlands from Miunde (Chimbu and WHP border) to Togoba junction – 83km maintained by NRA, contracted to Works Department;

* Togoba junction to Nebilyer Bridge – 19km to be maintained NRA through Works Department;

* Nebilyer Bridge to WHP and SHP border – national government contract under HHRP suspended;

* Southern Highlands sections, Kaugel to Kisenapoi – HHRP contract suspended;

* Kisenapoi to Angula Bridge ongoing HHRP contract;

* Angula Bridge to Mendi – no financier;

* Mendi (SHP border) Margarima (Enga border) – financed under ADB to be upgraded under ADB-multi-financing facility (MFF);

* Enga’s Magarima (Enga border) to Kandep – maintained under ADB;

* National government regravelling project to be upgraded under ADB MFF;

* Kandep to Laiagam – regravelling and upgrading under ADB MFF;

* Laiagam to Wabag – 40km maintained under ADB; and

* Wabag to Wapenamanda – reconstruction to be financed by AusAID and Wapenamanda to Togoba, 28km tendered by AusAID under TSSP

The presentation revealed the rehabilitation and bringing of the 1,400km of road to maintainable condition would be carried out in stages over 10 years.