The signing of a supplemental agreement today at the Government House in Port Moresby for the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment program, will see an additional K34million added to the original contract for the repair, rehabilitation, upgrade, and maintenance of the Highlands highway.
According to the Department of Works Secretary, Mr. David Wereh, the funding will be for a specific purpose on the road works taking place.
“What you witnessed today was a scope increase for some maintenance and emergency works on the first section from Nadzab junction in Lae all the way to Henganofi in Eastern Highlands under the MCC (Metallurgical Corporation of China) contract for thirty-four million Kina on top of the original contract. So, we came to sign the supplementary agreement as cleared by the cabinet and the state solicitor,” he said.
“The new contract amount is around two hundred and sixty-four million Kina now with the addition of the thirty-four million Kina variant.”
The secretary also said the road works is in progress from Morobe province to the Eastern Highlands province.
“It’s a four-year long-term program-based contract under three major sub-sections of the four-hundred-and-thirty-kilometer road from Lae Nadzab airport junction to Kagamuga junction in the Western Highlands province and we got three major Chinese companies that are working under the ADB funding.”
“We are halfway through the project duration and the achievements so far as far as the physical works are concern, we are about forty-five to fifty percent complete now.”
The Governor General Sir Bob Dadae officially signed the documents this morning along with the Department of Works Secretary and the contractors to make way for the works to begin.