Photo: PM Marape in Vanimo
During his official visit to West Sepik, James Marape inaugurated a number of impact initiatives.
PM Marape described his visit as a watershed moment, not only for the official opening of the new West Sepik Provincial Administration Building but also for the announcement of other significant projects.
“I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Governor of West Sepik, Hon. Tony Wowo, who did not wait for the National Government. Instead, he went ahead and used the funding given to the provincial government and the province’s internal revenue to build the new provincial assembly Building,” he said.
“It is not easy to have a vision and to bring it to reality.”
West Sepik, according to PM Marape, is one of the few provinces that owns and operates a modern building.
He stated that the National Government will provide an extra K4 million for the building's other expenses.
“As I am now standing at the new Provincial Assembly Building, I will take the opportunity to make some announcements of projects for West Sepik,” PM Marape said.
“The new Vanimo Wharf that will be built here by a South Korean company will cost about US$200 million. This is the closest port for us to export to Asia.”
He stated that after the Vanimo port was constructed, the provincial government would be entitled to a part of the port's earnings.
Another project, according to the Prime Minister, is the road connecting Vanimo and Wewak. Under the Connect PNG initiative, the first stage of the K200 million construction has been allocated, and a contract is set to be issued.
“This road will connect Vanimo to Wewak so you can go shopping in Wewak, and you can take a short amount of time to travel instead of a long time that it takes now,” he said.
“The road from Telefomin to Tabubil is another K200 million project where a new road will be cut.”
The Prime Minister said that K15 million had been set up in the 2022 Budget for the construction of a new modern hospital in Vanimo.
He also stated that the government will provide the province K5 million to develop a Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) college for West Sepik's youth.
Reference: PM James Marape News Page (6 December 2021). “PM Marape launches several projects in West Sepik”
