Trunk infrastructure must be established before houses are constructed.
The lack of trunk infrastructure constrains affordable housing and this has been a major challenge for the government of PNG, especially in cities like Lae and Port Moresby.
These were lessons learnt from the Duran Farm Housing Project in Port Moresby, as stated by National Research Institute, Associate Professor, Eugene Ezebilo and Logea Nao.
Stakeholders being important key players were also invited to discuss potential strategy to moving Duran Farm Housing Farm Project forward.
Professor Eugene said after conducting a research on the Duran farm housing project, a number of key points findings were established.
He said in order for orderly development to happen, trunk infrastructure such as portable pipe borne supply, good road networks, sewage and electricity, must be established in the area before the houses are constructed.
The lack of the infrastructure is hindering the smooth progress of the housing project.
It’s been established also that although the houses have been completed it is unfortunate that the houses have not been occupied as yet.
This is because of the lack of trunk infrastructure which further frustrates the process of providing housing to Port Moresby residents and is not helping with the current housing shortage in the market.
Another reason is that, most public servants might not be able to afford a house at Duran Farm and depending on the number of rooms, the prices of the house including the land title ranges from K350, 000 to K450, 000.
Most Papua New Guineans who are either in the low or middle income bracket would find it difficult, if not impossible to meet even the minimum cost of the house in Duran Farm.
The finding also stresses that delay in the provision of truck infrastructure and the subsequent delays in the overall project are becoming costly for the State, the housing contactors and the society.
“As the completed houses have not yet been occupied, the contractors, government agencies like PNG Power and Eda Ranu are also missing out on money they could have generated from the services that could have generated from potential residents.
Professor Eugene said moving forward, with the Duran Farm housing project, the recommendations that needs the governments urgent attention is to provide the necessary trunk infrastructures, review sale prices of houses to enable affordability by the majority of low to medium income group, and to carry out quality checks on all completed houses before sale.