Work on the 17-kilometre missing link between Illi to Karong wards, along the south coast corridor of the Sinivit LLG in Pomio District, East New Britain Province will soon begin.
The road project extends from Karong all the way to Marunga ward and is contracted to locally owned company Kokopo Plant Hire.
The contract is worth K10 million and was awarded recently by the ENB Provincial Procurement Committee (PPC) in Kokopo.
Acting Sinivit LLG Manager, Pennie Maroro Jnr said the project will include the upgrading of an existing road from Karong to Marunga, that was constructed by a logging company years ago.
He said this road is being complemented by two bridges to connect Illi to Merai, and the rest of the south coast to the provincial capital of Kokopo.
“These road and bridge connections will link up the whole south coast area of Sinivit LLG and even the 13 wards from the neighboring East Pomio LLG, initially between the two LLGs and to Kokopo city,” he said.
The two Bailey bridges include a 45-metre bridge for the Kilak river and the 100-metre bridge for the Merai River.
“Currently, the people living along the south coast area, especially from Karong to Marunga, as well as East Pomio LLG, travel via the sea on dinghies to get services from Kokopo, due to the missing link between Illi and Karong wards, which is basically rainforest that needs to be cleared,” he said.
Once completed, the road project will provide accessibility and ensure safety of villagers from the six wards of Sinivit LLG along the south coast corridor and the 13 wards of East Pomio LLG.