Road work on Guale starts

THE Ministry of Infrastructure Development has started rehabilitating roads, bridges, culverts and drainage on Guadalcanal. But the ministry says in a media statement that progress will depend on the available funds and in the case of donor funded projects, the implementation schedules.It says the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has two components of work programmes which complement each other in the rehabilitation work.The Solomon Islands Improvement Project (SIRIP) has included in its work programme the Guadalcanal Main Road (Honiara to Lambi on West Guadalcanal and Honiara to Aola on East Central Guadalcanal.The statement says a contractor has been contracted to maintain the sealed road beyond Alligator Creek on North Guadalcanal and beyond Kakabona on North West Guadalcanal for $2.816 million.The contractor is now on the ground repairing the sealing on the road.And on the unsealed roads on West Road to Naro Hill, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has contracted a local company, Jerisya Earth Works to seal the road for $3,298,900.The statement says work on site is progressing as scheduled, adding the contractor has successfully negotiated with landowners for gravel.The Ministry also carried out an assessment on the Naro Hill to Lambi road on West Guadalcanal under the project and a full rehabilitation/reconstruction will start in accordance with the Project schedules.But it says it will be an expensive exercise as it would cost more than $24 million, adding it will include re-gravelling and compacting, drainage, culverts and bridges.The statement says the roads will likely cost $11.03 million while the crossings $13. 838 million.The Ministry of Infrastructure and Development has included the section of the road under the Project because of the cost involved and it will be treated as a sub-project and contracted superlatively.The Project is about a month behind schedule as the Ministry of Infrastructure Development had decided the sub-projects must be revised as a result of the world prices which have pushed up the estimates by about 50 percent.The revised scopes and cost estimates have been completed and tenders should be released this month, with civil work to be carried out in early 2009, considering the three months tender process.The sub-project Mberande to Aola stretch of road will be tendered out on its own so a separate contractor will be engaged.The statement says assessment has been completed under the project for this section of the road.The intention is to rehabilitate the road beyond Mbokokimbo River crossing/bridge on East Central Guadalcanal. Tenders for this section of the road will be released later in the month but work will not start until in early 2009.



Source: SIBC