JICA to Assist Government With Kokopo-Rabaul Infrastructure

Thursday 18 June 2020 -- A signing ceremony held today will pave way for the consultation process to begin and the drafting of the actual plan for the Kokopo-Rabaul Infrastructure development. Secretary for Department of National Planning and Monitoring, Koney Samuel, Secretary for Department of Transport, Roy Mumu, Chief Representative for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) PNG, Masato Koinuma, and Deputy Provincial Administrator for East New Britain Provincial Administration (ENBPA), Levi Mano were parties to the signing of the Records of Discussion on the Project for Kokopo-Rabaul Infrastructure Development Plan agreed upon between ENBPA and JICA.   Secretary Samuel acknowledged the important partnership of JICA to the Government of Papua New Guinea in supporting infrastructure development in the country.   “We very much appreciate some of the key interventions by the Japanese government especially the bridges program in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and West New Britain. One of the reasons why East New Britain is an important province in the country is that it is a tourism hub and we need to develop the province so we can attract more tourists and also for the business houses and in support of the SME sector,” Mr Samuel said.   He said the Government was happy that JICA had come in to help the Government look at the best infrastructure development plan for East New Britain to address its infrastructure challenges.   Chief Representative for JICA PNG, Masato Koinuma, said JICA in collaboration with ENBPA is going to implement the two-year project, which aims to:   1) enhance the capacity of the counterpart, and   2) formulate ‘Project for Kokopo-Rabaul Development Plan’ for main sectors of road, airport, port, water supply and power.   “JICA is proud to support development in not only Kokopo-Rabaul but also in PNG nationwide. We look forward to our continuing cooperation in promoting sustainable development in PNG,” Mr Koinuma reiterated.   Secretary for Transport, Roy Mumu, said transport was critical to any nation.   “In the transport sector, we developed the transport plan in alignment with the Medium Term Development Plan III and came up with the Medium Term Transport Plan II. In that plan, Connect PNG is a very important agenda, especially when we have aging transport infrastructure. So Connect PNG is not only about missing links, but also about rehabilitation to existing infrastructure,” Secretary Mumu said.   ENBPA Deputy Provincial Administrator, Levi Mano, thanked JICA for its ongoing support to the people of East New Britain.   “This is one of those significant projects from JICA and the people of Japan. This major infrastructure continues to be affected by all kinds of things; from volcanic eruptions, ongoing flash flooding, instability of the top soil as a result of the frequent earthquakes in the area makes this a very challenging project,” Mr Mano said.   The Deputy Provincial Administrator assured both secretaries that ENBPA would work together with JICA and their people and ensure that this project is delivered.