A section of a yet to be opened 15 million US dollar highway in the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby, has collapsed.
The Post Courier newspaper says the damaged part of the Hubert Murray Highway will cost more than a million US dollars to repair, with the National Capital District Commission directing that the contractor absorb the cost.
The damage was apparently the result of a burst water main underneath the new road.
The paper says the collapse comes amid concerns raised by Western Highlands provincial leaders about the quality of the workmanship on transport infrastructure.
The Western Highlands governor, Paias Wingti, and petroleum and the energy minister, William Duma, say millions of kina in public funding is being spent on substandard infrastructure.
