CRICKET LEGENDS TO VISIT LAE
Two Cricket Legends will be in Lae next month. Arjuna Ranatunga and Andrew Bichel will be here on Thursday 28th of August and a fund raising dinner is being organised to raise funds for Cricket Lae. The kids of Lae will be able to attend a coaching clinic to be headed by these cricket greats which will help with their development and will be a wonderful memory for them in later life.
Cricket PNG in collaboration with the ICC is looking at upgrading facilities in Lae. This is exciting news for Lae and is just what we need to take the focus from the rather depressing political scene at the moment in PNG.
In reality Lae is doing well and will only get better:
– The new Port will be completed hopefully early next year, which will provide that extra wharfage so urgently needed. Already the IPBC is looking at further increasing the wharfage as it looks like the amount of shipping has out grown the wharf developments yet again.
- For those people who attended the Customs Forum yesterday and today, you would have heard of the exciting developments that are planned. To keep up with the exponential growth of shipping and cargo movement, it is vital for customs to update their ICT. The movement to the computerized Data entry ASCYUDA system some years ago was good but the system has struggled to keep pace with the number of entries, which is mainly because the slow Internet connections. The plans to upgrade to a VSAT system will provide the necessary internet speed and the use of data entries through a Website will provide more flexibility and ultimately speed up the system for users.
- The abysmal Road access to the Port will only improve from now on, with the upgrade of Mangola Street. There are plans to upgrade Milfordhaven Road to a 4 lane highway, which I believe has been put on hold at the moment but if it gets done will further improve the access to and from the Port. The only problem I see is the 2 lane cement section from the Mobil service station to the boundary road roundabout, which will be a bottle neck when the NADZAB 4 lane highway gets completed.
– The soon to be reconstructed ANGAU Hospital, which is a joint operation between the PNG and the Australian Governments, will see brand new hospital buildings constructed to world standards with the best and latest equipment.
– The planned redevelopment of NADZAB Airport, to include a better runway, bigger and more functional terminals and development of Airport related industries. The Government have made a decision on this development, it is only a matter of when and to what extent. Whatever eventuates and how quickly it happens will of course have an effect on our plans to urge the upgrade of the airport and terminal to take International flights.
Is it any wonder that businesses and buildings are being developed in Lae at the moment, with plans to build more? Lae is certainly picking up and can only get better.
Of course with development there are the associated problems, which must be addressed soon:
- Land is running short, because the Government has not opened up any new land in Lae since Independence, apart from the old Airstrip land, which is now a real mess. The developments that are taking place particularly toward NADZAB are all being done without any proper planning, and hence there will be problems down the track. Town services and utilities must be provided and schools and recreation areas are needed.
- Urban Management is vital for proper and coordinated development, but the Lae Urban LLG is all but dysfunctional. The real problem is that the LULLG is confined to the archaic city boundaries and much of the development is taking place beyond these boundaries. Hence not only does the LULLG need to be revamped but it needs to be expanded to provide urban facilities to include the places of new developments.
We do however look forward to the future developments of Lae and surrounding areas. Whilst we have tried to focus on what is taking place in Lae and future plans, we do invite as always criticism and comments.