THE CONSTRUCTION on the new Solomon Island Ports Authority (SIPA) international wharf is progressing well and is set to be completed next August.
Senior Civil Engineer and Consulting Engineers contractor of Eco Corporation of Japan who supervised the work on the site, Yuhei Adachi revealed this to the local media and SIPA officials during a site tour yesterday.
Media officers were given a rare chance to visit the construction site where the new wharf is currently being built.
The wharf is being funded by Japanese Government and Solomon Island Government (SIG) through Ministry of Infrastructure and Development (MID).
Mr Adachi in an interview said, work on the new wharf is progressing well and on schedule.
“At the moment we are working very hard and expect to complete this wharf according to its timeline.
“Hopefully this new wharf should be completed August next year prior to its September deadline,” Mr Adachi said.
He said, one of the difficulties the project is facing is with the delay of transporting gravels to the construction site.
The project sourced most of its gravels from the west side of the city which are being transported by dump truck.
However, he said so far everything is going on well and on schedule. “We are hoping this wharf will be completed in August and not September according of the time frame of the project.”
He explained work progress is now 45% and hopefully by the end of September the project should be 50% halfway.
“At the moment the project is 45% complete which is on time, very fast and well on expected time in the actual timeframe.”
At the moment, work is on reclaiming the land for the expansion of the new international dock.
“By early next year the wharf should be 60% complete and by next August it should be completed. Therefore I would like to assure government and people of Solomon Islands this is a well built international wharf for Solomon Islands,” he said.
SIPA Director of Engineer Ronald Ivupitu said, that SIPA is working closely with the Japanese government and the assigned contractor to ensure work on the new wharf is completed right on time.
“At the moment we have no problem here because the Japanese supervisors are working very hard with local engineers and contractors to ensure each day work is done on time.”
He also highlighted the issue of transportation in gravels which is taking time to be delivered on site.
Work at the site involves reclaiming the once seafront and raised to 2.5metres before the actual cement work for wharf kicks off.
Mr Ivupitu thanked the Japanese government for the provision of funding to help the Solomon Island Government built the new wharf.
He said, once completed this new wharf would solve some problems at the main international wharf to allow more boats to berth.
The new wharf will be around 150 metres long.
By DENVER NEWTER
