Davao Oriental sets sights on P2.1-B road project

DAVAO CITY — Officials of Davao Oriental province have approved a multiyear, multibillion-peso road project.

In a statement, Gov. Nelson Dayanghirang said the P2.1-billion local road network development plan “would be a worthy investment.” The plan, which would be implemented until 2022, would improve a total of 129.6 kilometers of roads, the governor said.

Dayanghirang said studies showed that the road project would boost agricultural production by as much as 10 percent.

Davao Oriental has an average annual rice yield of 87,463 metric tons and corn output of 56,068 mT per year.

The Philippine Coconut Authority also considers Davao Oriental as the country’s biggest coconut producer with an annual production of 1 million metric tons of coconuts.

Poverty rate in the province, however, was also one of the highest in the country at 27 percent. —Frinston Lim