By Delly Bagu – EM TV, Port Moresby
It is no secret that Papua New Guinea’s physical geography is as diverse as it gets.
The variations in climate, elevation, vegetation and population all contribute to the challenge of building vital infrastructure.
According to a team of engineers and the town planner who will be carrying out feasibility studies on the Lae to Finschafen highway, it’s all about identifying the challenges and making the right decisions.
Among the technical team that will be conducting feasibility studies for the Lae to Finschafen highway and economic corridor are civil engineers, a geologist, a surveyor and even the country’s first ever town planner.
When giving a presentation of the corridor study, town planner Wesley Aruga said the objective of the Morobe to Madang economic corridor is to minimise the current socioeconomic disparities in these regions and create opportunities.
Over 215,000 people live in the Lae to Finschafen region. Lae and Madang have vast economic potential; however the lack of roads in the area prevents the people from accessing basic services from education and health.
In fact, presentations showed that the sub-region is totally disconnected from Lae City, which only seems to serve the Highlands Highway. Villagers are also unable to get to markets in Lae or Madang to sell or buy goods as well.
The highway and economic corridor ultimately aims to achieve quality of lives for all.
The team, along with development company Aleena Limited, will be in Lae this weekend to meet with Morobe’s provincial leaders for further discussions.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=czXboHc-8oU%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
