PEOPLE must take care of the 430km road rehabilitated from Kagamuga in Western Highlands to Nazab in Morobe and the 71 bridges, says Works and Highways secretary Gibson Holemba.
Holemba said citizens had a responsibility when using and benefitting from public infrastructure.
He made these remarks after seeing betel nut stains along the road during a drive from Kagamuga into Mt Hagen for the opening of the Works and Highways Highlands office on Wednesday.
This major road infrastructure is to be completed in June next year and is being built through the Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Programme at the cost of K3 billion funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since 2017.
Holemba said the programme remained a huge capital investment for the Government and the public played a major role in ensuring it lasted.
“If we don’t care of the 430km of the road and from Kagamuga to Nazab, that road will just go. If we don’t care for over 70 bridges, they will deteriorate quickly,” he said.
Holemba called on the seven Highlands works managers to advocate the same message.
He urged people to respect and appreciate the amount of time, funding and effort that goes into building and upgrading the country’s main road network.
Holemba said disposing of rubbish responsibly, and not taking for granted state assets such as roads and bridges, and the like, would ensure these infrastructures stayed intact and served their purpose.
