Community gets good road access after decades
01 Jan 2026
For decades the people of Sandaun block a remote agricultural community in Inland Baining where settlers from all over Papua New Guinea have bought land and built new lives have endured long and difficult journeys to access even the most basic services.
Poor road conditions meant carrying produce to market was a struggle, reaching health care was uncertain, and children often walked miles to attend school.
Today, that hardship is giving way to hope as the community celebrates the opening of a newly rehabilitated road, a lifeline that promises safer travel, easier access to essential services, and renewed opportunities for economic growth.
Br> But now under the PNG Agriculture Commercialization and Diversification (PACD) Project supported by the PNG government and the World Bank they have celebrated the official opening of the 3.5-kilometre feeder road linking the communities of Vunapalading and Burit in the Gazelle District of East New Britain.
The K4.56million project was officially opened on December 17, 2025, by the ENB Governor Michael Marum witnessed by the Cocoa Board and PACD Project Management Unit team and the surrounding beneficiary communities.
Project Senior Engineer Raymond Paulias who is spearheading the project road component described the project as more than just a construction job.
“This road is more than gravel and culverts, it is an economic lifeline,’’ he said. “It means market access for cocoa farmers, school access for children, and health access for families. Already, labour has been sourced locally, so benefits are immediate. “We’re also training communities to maintain the road after completion so the impact continuous well beyond the project,”.
Paulias said the road would reduce travel time, vehicle operating cost, and improve economic output. “Improved road would reduce travel time, vehicle operating costs, and improve economic output. “Improve road conditions always open up rural economies. Cocoa output will increase. Materials will move faster. Health and education services will reach sooner. It’s transformational.
Contractor Gary Gan, Manager of COVEC Ltd, shared his personal experience of visiting the site for the first time. “I thought it was a small, unimportant road until I walked it, he said. “Four hours on foot, heavy jungle and mud. But now, just ten minutes drive by vehicle. This isn’t just a road. It’s a connection to life, trade and dignity. “Farmers used to carry cocoa bags by hand; now they can drive. This road connects people to the outside world. It is an honour for me to build it.
Meanwhile a lot of farmers shared their testimonies of the struggles they faced in this road in accesses essential services. Steven Liai a lead farmers from Sandaun community describe the history of agricultural efforts in the area, from the earlier PPAP project to now PACD.
“We planted thousands of seedlings, 720 per farmers across 280 farmers. But there was no road. We waited for years but while our cocoa ripened with no access to marker,” he said. “Now PACD has brought the road. I want to thank the contractor Covec and the team, this is what real change is like. Pastor Henry Edward shared a generational perspective, remembering the days when everything from farming to cooking was done manually. “We had no machines, no roads, just bare hands and firewood,” he said.
“We cleared bush, built homes, raised families- all by hand. Now that the road is here, we finally feel that we are being seen. This is an answered prayer.” Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary the story of Sandaun block and its new feeder road is a reminder of what inclusive, grassroots development means: bringing opportunity where there was only struggle, and deliver progress not to the privilege, but to the patient, persistent and proud rural people of PNG.
Poor road conditions meant carrying produce to market was a struggle, reaching health care was uncertain, and children often walked miles to attend school.
Today, that hardship is giving way to hope as the community celebrates the opening of a newly rehabilitated road, a lifeline that promises safer travel, easier access to essential services, and renewed opportunities for economic growth.
Br> But now under the PNG Agriculture Commercialization and Diversification (PACD) Project supported by the PNG government and the World Bank they have celebrated the official opening of the 3.5-kilometre feeder road linking the communities of Vunapalading and Burit in the Gazelle District of East New Britain.
The K4.56million project was officially opened on December 17, 2025, by the ENB Governor Michael Marum witnessed by the Cocoa Board and PACD Project Management Unit team and the surrounding beneficiary communities.
Project Senior Engineer Raymond Paulias who is spearheading the project road component described the project as more than just a construction job.
“This road is more than gravel and culverts, it is an economic lifeline,’’ he said. “It means market access for cocoa farmers, school access for children, and health access for families. Already, labour has been sourced locally, so benefits are immediate. “We’re also training communities to maintain the road after completion so the impact continuous well beyond the project,”.
Paulias said the road would reduce travel time, vehicle operating cost, and improve economic output. “Improved road would reduce travel time, vehicle operating costs, and improve economic output. “Improve road conditions always open up rural economies. Cocoa output will increase. Materials will move faster. Health and education services will reach sooner. It’s transformational.
Contractor Gary Gan, Manager of COVEC Ltd, shared his personal experience of visiting the site for the first time. “I thought it was a small, unimportant road until I walked it, he said. “Four hours on foot, heavy jungle and mud. But now, just ten minutes drive by vehicle. This isn’t just a road. It’s a connection to life, trade and dignity. “Farmers used to carry cocoa bags by hand; now they can drive. This road connects people to the outside world. It is an honour for me to build it.
Meanwhile a lot of farmers shared their testimonies of the struggles they faced in this road in accesses essential services. Steven Liai a lead farmers from Sandaun community describe the history of agricultural efforts in the area, from the earlier PPAP project to now PACD.
“We planted thousands of seedlings, 720 per farmers across 280 farmers. But there was no road. We waited for years but while our cocoa ripened with no access to marker,” he said. “Now PACD has brought the road. I want to thank the contractor Covec and the team, this is what real change is like. Pastor Henry Edward shared a generational perspective, remembering the days when everything from farming to cooking was done manually. “We had no machines, no roads, just bare hands and firewood,” he said.
“We cleared bush, built homes, raised families- all by hand. Now that the road is here, we finally feel that we are being seen. This is an answered prayer.” Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary the story of Sandaun block and its new feeder road is a reminder of what inclusive, grassroots development means: bringing opportunity where there was only struggle, and deliver progress not to the privilege, but to the patient, persistent and proud rural people of PNG.
