The Marea House, fondly referred to as the “Pineapple Building” because of its oval to cylindrical-shape, was officially re-opened by the PNG Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, and re-named Sir Manasupe Haus on 27 January 2016 in Port Moresby.
Kramer Ausenco provided the structural, civil and building services design and engineering, for the refurbishment of the iconic twelve story commercial structure which has been named after retiring Chief Secretary Sir Manasupe Zurecnuoc.
Fittingly, the Kramer Ausenco engineering team based in Port Moresby who drove the project with the support of the Group’s engineers in Fiji and Australia, was led by Senior Electrical Engineer, Finkewe Zurecnuoc, Sir Manasupe’s sister.
Ms. Zurecnuoc is proud of the KA team which consisted mostly of young PNG graduate engineers, who despite their own initial reservations about delivering such a significant project, overcame early doubts and contributed to a world class building.
Julieth Jiap, one of the engineers in the KA team, was pleased to work on the Sir Manasupe Haus - an important State building – and saw her part in it as a meaningful way to give back to the country.
Ms. Zurecnuoc said, “The team did a great job on the Sir Manasupe Haus which will house the Prime Minister’s Department and other central government agencies.”
“The graduates worked with seasoned contractors, and did well to get the contractors to see the engineering point of view, which can be difficult. Credit too to the contractors who assisted these engineers.”
“This project was a PNG affair. The workforce involved PNG nationals, architects, engineers and contractors. It goes to say that PNG engineers and technical professionals can perform at the highest of levels.”
Ms. Zurecnuoc is satisfied with the KA team’s work on the building, and the added reward of having it named after her older brother.
“Sir Manasupe also knows that the KA team of engineers in Port Moresby are all national, and as a Papua New Guinean, he is very proud of them,” she said.
The refurbishment of Sir Manasupe Haus was funded by Oil Search under its tax credit scheme.
Image caption: (l-r) The Marea House during the re-opening when it was re-named Sir Manasupe Haus. Graduate engineers Julieth Jiap and Eugene Beangke on site before the building’s completion.
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