Contractors engaged by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID) are still working hard to protect roads damaged in the April 2014 Honiara flood disaster.
Vara Creek road was seriously threatened when the Mataniko River burst its banks during the flooding.
MID’s contractor EMCO Pacific (SI) Ltd recently completed a 110m long sheet pile wall on a critical road section near Vara Creek, behind Chinatown.
These works are jointly funded by the Solomon Islands and Australian Governments through the National Transport Fund (NTF), with technical support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Head of the NTF Secretariat and Undersecretary Technical MID, Jimmy Nuake said, “The sheet piling is costing the fund about SBD 1.0m. Although we often prefer simpler, cheaper solutions, such as gabion baskets, the extra cost of sheet piles was justified in this case by the importance of the road.
“We can’t risk Vara Road being cut the next time the Mataniko comes up. It would leave hundreds of homes cut off.”
This project is one of more than a hundred contracts the NTF is funding this year to improve transportation infrastructure across the Solomon Islands.
“It may take a little while yet before we finish with last year’s flood damage.
“However the Vara road works show how the NTF is ‘Building Back Better’ to avoid repeat problems in the future,” Mr Nuake said.
