Photo Credit: Geology In 2021
Secretary Harry Kore said the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management (DMPFGM) is putting up the country's Geohazards management policy.
Kore recently made the remarks during the commissioning of the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory's new office expansion.
According to him, the policy covered the seismic component of the construction code.
“With that, we are trying to make it compulsory for those who construct infrastructure such as roads, buildings and all these to apply the earthquake loading standards,” he said.
“This is so that in the event of an earthquake the building does not collapse.
“The roads that you build must last up to 15 to 20 years.
“Right now we have roads being built and the next minute there are potholes and they patch them up with gravel and it continues.
“We want to get rid of that and the only way to do that is to apply the standards so that’s basically what we are doing with the geohazards management policy.
“We also have a lab standard operating procedure. We are trying to make use of that so we make it compulsory and any developer who wants to build infrastructure in PNG must come and get certification from us.
“We will talk to the banks, financiers and insurance companies and tell them to send them (developers) to us.”
The Chris McKee wing for the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory, according to Kore, will be named after the DMPGM director who would be retiring soon.
Reference:
Luma, Dale. The National (5 July 2021). “Dept working on geohazards management policy”.
