New facility to improve soldier welfare

PNG Defence Force engineers in Lae now have improved accommodation after more than K1 million was spent renovating their barracks at Igam.

The 48-bedroom Bravo Company facility was officially handed over on Friday. The project was funded through Australia’s Defence Cooperation Program and completed by local contractor Hornibrooks.

The renovation is aimed at giving soldiers a safer place to live and rest while carrying out their duties.

Engineering Battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Sarufa Eka said the project was about more than a building.

“It’s for our soldiers’ welfare and it helps or keeps our soldiers motivated,” Eka said.

He said soldiers needed proper accommodation so they could rest and do their jobs. The need for the work was raised by Australian Defence Force personnel in Lae.

Major Darren Cocker, the ADF officer commanding Lae, said more than K1 million was secured from Australian defence funding to refurbish the building.

"The work has made the accommodation safer and fit for purpose," he said.

The Australian Consul-General Brenton Kanowski said good accommodation was important to the welfare and morale of soldiers.

“We cannot contribute to the defence of our countries without having well-trained and fit and safely housed and looked after soldiers and personnel,” he said.

The project is part of wider defence cooperation between PNG and Australia under the Defence Cooperation Program and the Pukpuk Treaty.

It follows the recent handover of a renovated barracks to the Joint Forces Academy at Igam Barracks.

For Bravo Company soldiers, the project delivers a basic need: a safer place to live, rest and prepare for duty.