The villages of Faleatiu and Satapuala have welcomed the commissioning of newly reconstructed roads as well as a water supply system for Satapuala.

The two new roads and water supply were officially opened on Thursday afternoon with Government leaders as well as members of the villages in attendance.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi opened the Faleatiu road, saying that it was rebuilt to facilitate access to farmland as well as enable safe transportation for residents.

The representative of the constituency initially put in a request to the Government for the road to be redone, which led to a review being undertaken of the road infrastructure's importance and the needs of the community. 

Tuilaepa then emphasised numerous developments were undertaken in the current term of Parliament, despite the onset of health challenges in the measles outbreak and the coronavirus global pandemic, which led to job losses and the closure of various services.

Nevertheless, he said he remains thankful that Samoa continues to be safe from the pandemic.

The road was officially opened when Tagaloasa Uili Matafeo, who is a Manager (Human Resource and Support Services) with Samoa Airport Authority, cut the ribbon. 

The 2.6km long and 5 meters wide road was constructed by Ott Construction together with the new 1.3km road at Satapuala which was opened on the same day at a price of $1.8 million.

The new road and water supply for Satapuala was opened after the road opening at Faleatiu on Thursday.

The drilling of water which went to a depth of  90.3m in order to access bore water was done by the Samoa Water Authority with a 250 cubic meter tank set up by Kings Construction.

Bluebird Construction was contracted to lay the water supply pipeline for the village.

The total cost of the project was $1,900,000 and was funded by the World Bank and the Government of Samoa.

The Minister of Communication Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupa'i, also commissioned the new road when he cut the ribbon and expressed his appreciation for the road that the village now has. 

Another Cabinet Minister, Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure, Papalii Niko Lee Hang commissioned the village’s water supply system and expressed appreciation for the blessings that Satapuala village now has.

Member of the Satapuala village, Naoupu Faumui told the Samoa Observer on Thursday that she is thankful to the Government for their support.