By MALUM NALU
Reelected Lae Chamber of Commerce and Industry
president Alan McLay says expansion and consolidation of the manufacturing
sector are among major developments in Lae over the years.
He rates continuous power blackouts and
communication problems as among the major problems that have beset Lae.
McLay has been chamber president since 1995.
 |
| Alan McLay…concerned about power and communication problems in Lae |
He is assisted by senior vice-president Nigel
Merrick, junior vice-president Robert Howden, immediate past
president Phil Franklin, treasurer Stephen Beach, and councilors Kaity Bluett, Dennis
Brewster, Terry Fuery, Ben Woo, Andrew Gunn, Peter Diezmann, Danny Kepi, Vanessa
Chan-Pelgen, and Tony Wyatt.
MccLay said manufacturing was a feature of Lae.
“Up till the late 1980s, most products were imported
in a finished form,” he said.
“They were warehoused in Lae and distributed to the markets,
with over 70% to the Highlands.
“Hence, Lae had large wholesalers such as Sullivans,
Associated Distributers, Steamships, Colins & Leahy, etc, which have all
gone.
“Now most imported goods are components, which are
then packaged or finished here in Lae by manufacturers.
“This means more investment in Lae, more employment
and consolidation of businesses.”
Power and communication problems worry McLay.
“Lack of planning and installation of reliable
back-up generators has left Lae short of good quality power,” he said.
“The aging generators at Yonki have become
unreliable due to lack of serious maintenance over the years.
“Now the 78 megawatt output from the Yonki installation
is insufficient to supply the network: Lae, Madang, Kainantu, Goroka, Kundiawa,
Hagen, etc, as well as the new commitment to provide power for Hidden Valley.
“The Milfordhaven and Taraka power stations do not
even provide half the city’s power needs, which means power has to be rationed
in load shedding exercises when Yonki is down.
“The real bad thing about insufficient power is that
the power is poor quality, with huge spikes and fluctuations, which causes
damage to modern sensitive equipment.
“The private sector has had to armor itself against
the constant outages and spikes, by installing costly standby generators, and
power protection devices.
“I am waiting for PNG Power to brief me on their
plans to construct what I believe will be a new 40 megawatt sub-station at
Singaua and plans for a hydro scheme between Lae and Finschhafen.
“This will of course relieve the power problems.”
McLay said reliance on mountaintop repeater stations
had caused communications outages over the years, which culminated in two weeks
of near total communications blackout in January this year.
“With the decrease in tariff duties by customs, our
manufacturers have to increasingly compete on the international market,” he
said.
“With poor communications and power, how can we do
that?
“Fortunately Telikom are running fibre optic cables
on power pylons – first to Madang which will be finished by May.
“This will see Lae connected to the international
gateway in Madang, and will be more than a back-up to the current system.
“We anxiously await this installation.”
When I last lived in Lae I was AOMS with the Regional Office Dept Works & Supply,
ReplyDeleteMilford Haven Road was as smooth as a new born baby's bum,
Now look at it,
The same applies to the Highlands Highway.
Where does the buck stop,
With the El Bulshiting Pollies.
Failure of basic maintenance no less, is the start of what this road has become.