Bad planning sees city streets flooded

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Streets in Port Moresby are being flooded by rainfall due to poor planning and design of recently built or reconstructed roads.

In certain suburbs of Port Moresby, residents are reporting heavy flooding of roads that are making it impossible for passage.

According to Gerehu police station commander Peter Kurai, the negligence shown by civil engineers contracted to build effective road networks is causing major traffic hazards around the Nation’s Capital.

Commander Kurai said that the roads were built without proper drainage being considered and that as a result, certain parts of the city are now immobilised from vehicular movement.

“Only larger four wheel drives and buses can access these roads, the smaller sedans and low cars have to find alternate routes, and for many this just means that they cannot travel until the water has been pumped out,” he said.

Residents have put in several complaints to the National Capital District Commission, but are still awaiting a response.

Findings from a special parliamentary committee on public sector reforms and service delivery has condemned the planning of the 300 million kina road network built with money lent by a Chinese bank.

The committee’s head of secretariat Dr Bill Hamblin said that the lack of planning on many parts of the road showed a complete lack of care and that investigations need to be carried out into who was contracted with the planning phase of the roads.

- Post-Courier