02/12/2025
Hi everyone, just sharing an update on the Alotau–Pom Highway.
Magi Highway currently ends at Ganai. From there, logging companies operating around the Abau and Bonua areas pushed the road further in over time, eventually reaching the last corner at Cloudy Bay. The road has now been extended to Labu and Darava.
Previously, travelers had to get off at Labu, take logging company trucks to Magore, and then walk about 3 kilometers to reach Magarida.
When the Connect PNG program came in, many expected proper infrastructure to follow. However, no permanent bridges were constructed between Cloudy Bay and Magarida. Instead, the Department of Works paid logging companies to put up temporary bridges at Bonua and Magore.
Similarly, the section from Magarida to Nube was contracted out, but the contractor simply used the existing logging company road and did not construct any of the necessary bridges from Magarida to Alotau.
This is the real situation on the ground.
To be clear: the Alotau–Pom Highway was NOT built by the Connect PNG program — it was developed primarily by logging companies.