The Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce has estimated to President the Executive Branch the cost as DOI Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta is set to arrive to Palau on August 1 for a signing of a grant to the country.
The grant details however are not yet disclosed pending Babauta’s arrival.
A 60 meter section of the highway built three years ago in Palau has collapsed due to heavy rains.
The section of the road on the east side of the island south of the Palauan capitol in Melekeok dropped about 3 meters and a detour around the damage was put in place within a few days. The road however remained to be unfixed due to lack of money.
Government engineers estimated that the repair will be extensive considering the damage.
The engineers also said that since it is a design defect, the United States will have to help Palau shoulder the cost of the repair. When the road was officially turned over to the Palau government in 2006, the warranty will only run for a year. The road collapsed in 2009 , making the repair the country’s responsibility.
The road is located in Ngchesar between the Jungle River Cruise and the Ngchesar-Koksai intersection.
The 85 kilometer roadway was built by South Korea-based Daewoo Engineering and Contracting Company Ltd, under contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
It was completed in 2006 at a cost of 143 million US dollars and funded with Compact funding from the U.S.
Earlier Minister Jackson Ngiraingas said that Palau cannot dip into the $3 million fund supposedly reserved for maintenance of the Compact Road.
He said the money will be used to purchase road equipment to maintain the road.
