Department of Public Works and Highways
MANILA, Philippines – Already assured of over P27 billion in infrastructure projects in 2013—the biggest slice of the government’s public works budget next year—Mindanao will get an additional P1.96 billion in projects to be funded by soft loans from the Saudi Arabian government, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
In a report titled “Saudi Fund for Development-assisted Mindanao Roads Improvement Project,” the DPWH also disclosed that the contracts for the projects were “under process for approval.”
The road projects, which are scheduled to be completed in May 2014, include the following: the Cotabato City East Diversion Road, which is estimated to cost P709.03 million; Lake Lanao Circumferential Road from Marawi City to Bayang, P421.6 million; Lake Lanao Circumferential Road from Bayang to Ganassi, P420.3 million; Basilan Circumferential Road from Isabela to Tumahubong, P414.9 million; and the Basilan Circumferential Road from Isabela to Sumisip, P415.2 million.
The Cotabato City East Diversion Road aims to “function as a bypass or diversion road and contribute to traffic decongestion in the area.” It involves the construction of an initial 13.8 kilometers of road, as well as three permanent bridges with a total length of 495 linear meters, said the report.
The 29.8-kilometer Lake Lanao Circumferential Road is to becom “the main access of the interior barangays to the markets in the town center” and is expected to speed up the economic development of the province of Lanao del Sur.
The 25-km Basilan Circumferential Road aims to “induce economic activities in the island-province and complement current and proposed development projects, which have been held back by peace and order problems,” the report said.
Meanwhile, at least seven World Bank-assisted road improvement projects in Mindanao have yet to be completed. They include, among others, the 53-km Digos-Cotabato City Road (Kidapawan City section) and the 50-km Digos-Cotabato City Road (Pangalungan section), which are 28.6 percent and 19.4 percent complete, respectively, The DPWH said.
Early next year, three Asian Development Bank-funded road projects will be “ready for roll-out,” said the DPWH. They are the 20.7-km Dipolog-Oroquieta City Road, which has a budget of P175.5 million; the 20-km Butuan City-Cagayan de Oro-Iligan City Road, P471.7 million; and the 38-km Bukidnon-Cotabato City Road, P315 million.
The DPWH earlier disclosed that of its 2013 infrastructure budget of more than P106 billion, the southern Philippines has an allocation of P27.6 billion, or 26.09 percent of the total.
Next year, the other regions will get the following allocations: Northern Luzon, P24.1 billion; Southern Luzon, P20.4 billion; Visayas, P19.4 billion; and Metro Manila, P14.6 billion.
During the past two years, the DPWH set aside P42.1 billion for public works projects in Mindanao, followed by Northern Luzon with P39.3 billion; Visayas, P31.2 billion; Southern Luzon, P30.2 billion; and Metro Manila, P17.2 billion.
In the department’s 2013 budget, the provinces belonging to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said to be the poorest areas in the country, will have the following allocations: Maguindanao, P962 million; Lanao del Sur, P557 million; Basilan, P431 million; and Sulu, P300 million.