Mabaruma, Port Kaituma to benefit from all-weather roads for first time

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 April 2017, 17:36 by Denis Chabrol

Several communities in Mabaruma and Port Kaituma will get all weather roads for the first time. Minister of State Joseph Harmon today, revealed that Cabinet has granted its approval for the award of contracts for the rehabilitation of six lots of all-weather roads in Mabaruma and Port Kaituma in Region One.

During a post-Cabinet briefing today, at the Ministry of Presidency, Minister Harmon explained that the road works are important and urgent. He noted that during several Ministerial visits to sub-region one and two in Region One, the residents had voiced their concerns about the poor quality of roads in Mabaruma and Port Kaituma.

The Minister of State indicated that Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has undertaken to visit and witness the works to be undertaken. “We expect that once infrastructure is put into a community, the community should help in protecting it because they are the ones who are inconvenienced when they are damaged or improperly used,” Minister Harmon was quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying.

The Central Kaituma wharf road to old road junction, Port Kaituma will be rehabilitated under Lot one for the sum of $51M. Under Lot two, phase two, the Port Kaituma to Matthews Ridge section will be repaired to the tune of $334M.  Lot three will cater for Central Kaituma catwalk road to Oronoque, Port Kaituma for $16M while under Lot 4, the Port Kaituma road from airstrip to Fitzburg Housing Scheme will be completed at a cost of $213M.

The Kumaka junction to the waterfront by the market road area in Mabaruma will be rehabilitated under Lot five for the sum of $66M while the Mabaruma main township road to airstrip road will be rehabilitated under Lot six for $2M.

In a recent interview with the Government information Agency (GINA), Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson had said that those roads are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

The scope of works will see full rehabilitation of the roads using laterite, construction of culverts and auxiliary road works. “Majority of those roads are laterite roads so we would be using the laterite material along with a stabilised material so those are the materials that would be used to construct or repair the roads in those areas,” the Minister had explained.

Funding for these works is catered for in the 2017 budget under hinterland expenditure. A total of $2.302B was allocated for the continuation of road rehabilitation and construction in the hinterland