The Baptist Union of PNG has been given the thumbs up for constructing a new water supply for the Tinsley District Hospital in the Baiyer River area of Western Highlands within budget and on time.
The new Australian High Commissioner to PNG, His Excellency, Mr. Bruce Davies praised the Baptist Union on Friday, January 22, 2016 when officially opening the water supply project.
He said the K800,000 project was not a big one but it was a significant one because the church as a contractor and manager of the project had completed it below budget.
Mr. Davies said the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which funded half the cost of the project stood ready to assist and ensure the water supply was maintained to serve the needs of the hospital and the surrounding communities.
He said it was great to see many good developments taking place such as the construction of the district hospitals at Tambul, Tinsley and Kotna and added that DFAT played a little part in these developments while most of the work including funding was done by Members of Parliament, WHPHA and the churches.
He said if all stakeholders worked together and developed these and other projects with a strong sense of partnership, more developments would take place to help improve the health of the people.
The Member for Mul/Baiyer/Lumusa, Hon. Koi Trape thanked DFAT for its financial assistance and the local community for allowing the water to be piped through their land to the hospital and other institutions.
Mr. Trape said the water supply was important for the hospital as it was now being developed into a district hospital which would have more buildings and services that would require continuous water supply.
The redevelopment of Tinsley would cost K15 million with K5 million already being appropriated for the construction of the first stage.
Mr. Trappe said there had been some delay in getting the new Lumusa Health Centre constructed last year and he would ensure there were no further delays this year.
Chief Executive Officer of the Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority, Dr. James Kintwa thanked the Australian Government for its continued support to health services in PNG.
He said projects such as the water supply and the redevelopment of Tinsley Hospital cost a lot of money to build and the WHPHA was grateful and appreciated the support of DFAT, the Western Highlands Provincial Government, Members of Parliament and churches.
Dr. Kintwa said partnership was the key to achieving good results and this also included the support of communities where projects were built. He urged them to look after what was provided in order for them to benefit in the long run.