Maintenance works on Malaita’s South Road reach 70% completion, improving drainage, graveling and access from Maoa to Hauhui.
Maintenance works on Malaita’s South Road, from Maoa to Hauhui (33 km), have now reached 70% completion.
According to site engineer Randy Tafiako of local contractor Trades Transformation Company (TTC), their progress so far is now concentrated at the Su’u stretch after they took a short break for New Year’s Eve.
Activities undertaken thus far include cleaning, drainage improvements, regraveling, and compaction.
Mr. Tafiako shared some of the challenges faced during this unseal project, especially accessing gravel for the road resurfacing phase.
“As is common with rural road works, sourcing quality aggregates is a challenge. We work closely with resource owners in identifying quality materials to be used,” he said.
Another significant challenge involves using detours for wet crossings, particularly when transporting machinery across small bridges that cannot bear heavy loads.
“There are detours near wet crop gardens, and we do not want to damage food sources.
“We always seek alternative routes to cross our machinery to continue work without causing harm to food gardens and properties,” the TTC engineer added.
TTC is also responsible for tar sealing the first 5 kilometers of the road from Kwaibala to Oibola. Preparatory works have been completed, and sealing is scheduled to begin later this month.
TTC’s entire road rehabilitation project is expected to be completed within 12 months.
Two other ongoing road maintenance and rehabilitation projects across Malaita Province’s road networks include the Busurata Road in Central Kwara’ae, undertaken by Exodus Trade Development Group, and the Northeast Road in the Fataleka region, carried out by FT Builders and Construction.
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID) Transport Infrastructure Management Services Division team based in Auki continues to provide overall supervision to these road works and ensure quality standards are maintained throughout all phases.
These Malaita Road improvements represent an investment of nearly SBD 40 million, fully funded by the Australian Government through the National Transport Fund (NTF), with another SBD 20 million for upgrade works in Honiara.
This complements the government’s 2017-2035 National Transport Plan (NTP), which aims to improve transport infrastructure by emphasizing accessibility, safety, and efficiency to foster social and economic development.
Source: MID MEDIA
