Telefomin to have road access

The estimated forty thousand residents of Telefomin District in the Sandaun Province will finally have a road to service their area. This was the undertaking given by their local Member of Parliament, Solan Mirisim during a recent delivery of K2.5 million worth of projects covering construction of school buildings, clinics, water supply, a footbridge and sports infrastructure. Their current dire existence sees all goods either airlifted or carried into the district from the townships of Tabubil or Kiunga in neighboring Western Province. This is set to change with Mr Mirisim’s pledge to ensure a connecting road network is constructed within his five year term in Parliament.  He also announced the allocation of K10 million for feasibility studies into the proposed Telefomin – Kiunga Road, stating that road construction works will cost K160 million. Mr Mirisim added that the district was set to change, encouraging his people to work together with his administration.  “Telefomin will step out of the rain and with the people’s support, we can do it,” Mr Mirisim said.  The local MP remarked that the people of Framtigim village have witnessed the benefits of change, stating that “women and children no longer have to go down to the valley to fetch water for cooking, washing and drinking” when presenting seven 1000 liter tanks to the three communities of the village. Mr Mirisim assured the people that more tanks will be distributed to all communities including LLGs in Yapsie, Namea and Oksapmin. Meanwhile, communities in nearby villages who voted against Mr Mirisim in last year’s national elections have come together to offer support in a reconciliation ceremony held at the end of Telefomin Airstrip. “Let us put (away) what will hold back the progress of Telefomin. You have seen and felt the benefits of development since I took office five months ago. If we delay progress and not work together, we will all suffer,” Mr Mirisim said in response to their gesture.

Via Post Courier online, 22nd January 2013 

Wanted

Model of service providence-PNGSDP

By KONOPA KANA postcourier (8/06/2012)

PAPUA New Guinea Sustainable Development Project (PNGSDP) is ready to implement rural electrification to remote areas in Papua New Guinea and that can be made possible with Western Power, a subsidiary company of PNGSDP. Western Power is a 100 per cent owned by PNGSDP Limited provides electricity that is affordable and reliable to the people of PNG, particularly Western Province. According to the PNGSDP 2011 annual report Western Power’s long term goal is to promote diversified and balanced energy development of the people in Western Province with cheap electricity energy source for local communities beyond the life of the Ok Tedi Mine project.

The report stated that Western Power completed construction works on North Fly District this year and these projects are the last of the 31 mini grids projects undertaken between 2007 and 2012 with a combine a installed capacity of the mini grids stands at 1.8 Mega Watts and provides electricity services to 41 villages to a total of 12, 000 people. In the report Western Power took over electricity vending operations at Kiunga in 2011 at the request of the Fly River Provincial Government (FRPG) and since the commencement of the operation over 600 customers are connected to the rural electrification program. Western Power is responsible for the management and operation of the power supply facilities in the 6 government stations in the Middle and South Fly of Lake Murray, Awaba, Morehead, Balimo, Wipim and Obo. Meanwhile PNGSDP owns 58 communication towers in Western Province and these towers are managed by Western Power and Digicel was contracted to build the towers at the cost of over K70 million.

Digicel also entered into an agreement with PNGSDP to install their equipment on the towers to provide communication services and the present network provides communication coverage to 90 per cent of the people in Western Province.