Governor Oliver attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, for the Pohnpei State Emergency Operation Center (EOC) that will be located across from the Pohnpei Administrative Building at Peilapalap, Kolonia.
Kevin Petrini, Deputy Resident Representative and Country Manager for the UNDP Pacific Office in the Federated States of Micronesia, in his remarks during the groundbreaking ceremony, expressed his appreciation to the Government of Japan for its generous support and contribution. He also expressed his appreciation to the Governor of Pohnpei State for deciding to cost-share the construction of the EOC, which helped greatly to move this project forward. Mr. Petrini also thanked the Director of the Department of Public Safety, Mr. Patrick Carl, for his leadership to implement this activity from the design phase till now.
His Excellency, Michigami Hisashi, Ambassador of Japan to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), gave a brief overview of projects in the FSM that the Government of Japan has funded through the UNDP’s Enhancing Disaster and Climate Resilience in the FSM through improved Disaster Preparedness and Infrastructure project, and expressed his hope that construction of the EOC will be smoothly completed to provide a sense of security for Pohnpei.
On behalf of the Governor of Pohnpei State, Director Patrick Carl pointed out that this is the first Emergency Operation Center to be built in Pohnpei. He thanked the Government of Japan for the funding of the EOC and UNDP for the important coordination to start this activity along with the Pohnpei State Legislature and Office of Insular Affairs for cost-sharing. He also thanked the FSM Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management (DECEM) for helping with Pohnpei’s request for this activity. He concluded by saying that with this building, Pohnpei’s emergency response will be effectively coordinated from one location.
Jaap Van Hierden, UN Resident Coordinator, expressed his pleasure to see the coordination between the various agencies and departments to support this project. Mr. Max R. Iriarte, General Manager for contractor Black Sand Construction Corporation, gave the final remarks and thanked all the organizations and agencies involved for providing jobs for Pohnpei.