Construction work underway at Mataniko bridge Photo by Barnabas Manebona

THE Road Project that will surely lift the face of Honiara is progressing well since it was sealed and launched last year.

Engineers and contractors are now putting efforts to erect a much bigger bridge at the Mataniko River.

Central Market underpass and areas in front of the Central Market have also been upgraded.

The project is currently in its fourth month since the project was signed last year and by the look of current developments, there were changes that will give Honiara town a facelift once the project is completed.

The approximate SBD$213 million road upgrading project is aimed at alleviating the current road congestion Honiara city is experiencing.

The Kukum Highway has become one of the most important infrastructures that has through the years been supporting economic investments in and around Honiara City as well as further west and east of the city.

In the absence of any alternative route, every vehicle ends up on this highway; as a result traffic congestion has been increasingly worsening over the past years.

The Project Components are; upgrading of the Kukum Highway from Honiara City Roundabout to the Ministry of Fisheries, Countermeasure against traffic congestion around the Central Market, Improvement of the Honiara City Council Roundabout, Widening of the Mataniko 2-Lane Bridge, replace Old Mataniko Bailey Bridge with a 2-Lane concrete structure, and Soft Component.

According to the project’s implementation time line, the road is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.

KITANO and World Kaihatsu Kogyo Co. Ltd Joint Venture were selected as the Contractor under the Contract of Construction made on 26th May 2016 with MID in Tokyo, Japan to implement the project.