Vanimo

Home to 3,000 residents, this community, a mere three-hour drive from the Vanimo township, has become a beacon of hope and economic resurgence.

For years, Osima Village grappled with isolation, its inhabitants relying on traditional hunting and gardening for sustenance. Accessing markets in Vanimo and neighboring Indonesia posed significant challenges due to unreliable transportation.

Jeffery Osi, a village elder, vividly recalls the arduous waits for transport, even for urgent medical needs.

PNG Power Chief Executive Officer, Obed Batia denied recent claims that the Vanimo Power Station had caught fire yesterday morning destroying all its generators disrupting power supply in the township.

He said the news report is misleading and not true.

PNG Power switched-off the power station, following an unfortunate fire incident that started from the PNG Defence Force Forward Base, which shares the boundary with the power station and the fire quickly spread out to the power station yard.

The agreement was signed through their Corporative Society, Ibom Investment Ltd.
 
Chairman of Ibom Investment, Robert Ibom thanked Huarun Investment for having confidence in them to invest in this massive project.
 
"We have waited for such a project for a long time and thanks to Vanimo Green DDA for pushing this through and supporting the project,” he said. "The agreement will now pave way for the investor to come to the area and start the project.”
 
He also acknowledged the investor for its timeless support for making this project a reality.

He used the privilege of having a trust fund to start fish farming to address the high malnutrition problem in his district and the province.

With the experience of working in a fish farm with a Malaysian Company 10 years ago in Port Moresby, he returned to his own village and to establish a similar project for his people.

“In West Sepik Province there is the problem of food nutrition and malnutrition rate is very high. I believe that to achieve Vision 2050 of Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Food Nutrition, fish farming is the way to go,” he said.

This follows a facelift and refurbishment by BSP Vanimo Branch this month as part of the branch’s community project for 2021.

The surrounding communities of Lido, Dawaoh and Daunda can now enjoy a well-lit facility from a reliable clean energy source that powers up the centre.

With the country facing another COVID-19 surge in cases, the BSP Vanimo Branch also came with a timely assistance, providing a fridge for the medical staff to safely store vaccines.

Chief Commissioner of the PNG AIC, Hubert Namani, says the AIC was informed by PNG Air Services Limited (PNG ASL) about the accident on June 2nd, 2020.

Namani says according to initial information the accident involved a foreign aircraft, which to this date not been found.

All PNG registered aircraft’s have been accounted for.

The AIC is gathering information on the progress of Search and Rescue activities before a team of investigators is deployed.

Those intending to travel, holding onto a valid ticket and have queries are encouraged to visit a PNG Air sales office or an agent to be served.

Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Nancy Nakikus said "PNG Air is looking forward to operate flights and continue to connect people".

"We are looking forward to getting normalcy back into PNG and giving our people a quality service they deserve,"

While government funding is yet to be released, the Consul has gone ahead and prepared travel arrangements for the group to return to Vanimo on Wednesday 6th May.

Eighteen citizens are on standby to be repatriated back to PNG. They have been stranded in Jayapura since January 2020 when PNG border authorities wasted no time in securing this major entry point. 

The Plan, which was introduced under former governor Amkat Mai, aims to be the stepping stone on which the township builds its local economy.

Chamber President Boni Leki currently does not know what the plans of the current provincial administration are. However, he is hopeful they maintain the original plan.

“We intend to use that as a vehicle to bring in investments.

Participants in the training say it was an eye opener and one that gives them confidence to make better decisions.

The recent graduation of participants in the financial literacy program saw a good number of female trainees receive their certificates.

Some of them included primary school children from as far as Nuku District, who made the long journey to receive their certificates.

Grade Seven student Dorothy Arket was thankful for the training, saying she realises the importance of saving money.