New road

A 8.7-kilometer road connecting Sumbi to Kip in the lower Lai area was constructed with funding from the Mendi-Munhiu District Development Authority (MMDDA).  

Local member Raphael Tonpi outlined the plans for the district to connect all missing links through building and rehabilitating new and existing infrastructures with a focus on roads. The Sumbi-Kip road is an essential project for MMDDA. The K7 million project is funded by the MMDDA and co-funded by the Southern Highlands Provincial Government (SHPG).

Before cutting the ribbon to officially open the four-lane concrete road on Tuesday, the 24^th of January, Lae MP John Rosso said the four-term MP and former Finance Minister, Philemon, is also an Ahi landowner from Butibam village.

Rosso further paid tribute to the people of Ahi, thanking them for letting Lae be the provincial capital of Morobe.

The procession to reopen the 2.7km road included a reenactment of the ancient Opet festival, where statues of Theban deities were paraded annually during the New Kingdom era in celebration of fertility and the flooding of the Nile.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi marched along the road at the start of the ceremony. Pharaonic chariots and more than 400 young performers dressed in pharaonic costumes paraded along the avenue.