A Rotorua construction company has secured part of a $135 million contract to rebuild community infrastructure destroyed by a cyclone in Papua New Guinea.
Hansen, Brown and Armstrong is about to embark on Phase 1 of a three-step reconstruction project in the Oro Province, which was devastated by a cyclone in
2007.
A delegation from Papua New Guinea visited Rotorua last week to sign the contract and cement the relationship between Oro and the construction company.
Director Albert Hansen said the firm had been negotiating with provincial representatives and the central Papua New Guinea government for some months and the signing marked "the beginning of an historic relationship".
"This contract represents the first stage of works for Hansen Brown and Armstrong. Stages two and three will follow, including housing, hospitals and schools, that will equal a contract total of $135 million".
Stage one is the construction of a new government administrative centre at Oro Bay.
Hansen said this building would be unique in that it would be in the shape of the Queen Alexander butterfly - a creature native to the region and, with a wingspan of 300mm, recognised as the largest of its kind in the world.
The Oro Province is in the north eastern of Papua New Guinea and includes the famous Kokoda Trail. It was hit with such force by the cyclone that much of the area is still recovering, four years later. Rather than just reconstructing what was there before, the Government saw the rebuild as an opportunity to reorganise the province to meet the modern requirements of its evolving nation.
Moving the existing provincial capital from its position in Popondetta to Oro Bay, 24km to the north-east, is a key element of this, allowing the current village of Eroro to move to higher ground on the more sheltered side of the bay.
The delegation to Rotorua included Oro Province Governor Suckling Tamanabau, Provincial Administrator Owen Awaita and seven other representatives from provincial and central government.
