Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research will soon be housed in a state of the art laboratory office complex in Madang, Madang Province. A historical ground-breaking ceremony was held on site on 1st June 2022 with representatives from PNG Government, the Contractor and Institute staff. This occasion marked 15 years of negotiations, culminating in signing of contract by the Governor General and this ground breaking ceremony.
Present at the event were representatives from the PNG Government (including Department of National Planning, Department of Works), Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) and the staff of PNGIMR.
Dr Moses Laman, on behalf of the PNGIMR Director Professor William Pomat, welcomed the distinguished guests, gave a brief history of the project and thanked everyone for making the effort to be part of this significant event.
’15 years ago, initial ground works started and today I am thankful to both the previous and current government for making this ground breaking ceremony possible and for everyone who believed in our dream that this facility would be built. Madang staff have been waiting patiently for this occasion and we are grateful to witness it and see construction begin,’ Dr Laman said.
On behalf of the Department of Works (DoW), Deputy Secretary Mr John Ame said, ‘In the field of medical research, PNGIMR is qualified to find solutions that will benefit the people of PNG and add to global knowledge. We are happy that PNGIMR has engaged DoW to be partners in this project and to also supervise the project.’
Mr Ame highlighted the important components of any projects and said, ‘first and foremost, we have to have the land, project committees must be in place, good designs and specific plans of the building should be ready, we must have good supervision and last but not least, we have to make sure there is consistent funding available. Everything is now in place.’
Meanwhile, ABC Managing Director Mr Jonny Ala thanked the PNG Government, DoW and PNGIMR for the opportunity given to them as the contractors to build the Madang laboratory.
Ms Rose Koyama, representing the Department of National Planning and Monitoring Secretary, gave her appreciation to all the partners and stakeholders for making this event possible.
‘I am grateful that this project and the laboratory will create more job opportunities to the people of Madang Province and PNG,’ she concluded.
