DPWH holds groundbreaking for P997.5-M Samar Pacific Coastal Road

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has conducted the ground breaking ceremony for the P997.5 million Samar Pacific Coastal Road (SPCR) project in Northern Samar, which will connect the coastal towns of the province.

“This 11.6-kilometer road project from Junction Simora to Junction Palapag segments of the Samar Pacific Coastal Road in the town of Palapag, Northern Samar will complete the circumferential road of Samar Island,” DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, who led the event, said in a statement on Thursday.

Villar also said the project at Barangay Simora in Palapag, Northern Samar, will benefit motorists heading to the provincial capital town of Catarman from the Pacific coastal towns.

The project, which is slated to be completed around 2020, is being funded by the Korean government.

According to Project Director Sharif Hasim of the DPWH Roads Management Cluster 2, the SPCR project will be linked with the existing seven-kilometer Catarman road, which will also be improved.

The project will also cover the construction of three bridges, including the  161-lineal meter Simora Bridge, the 31-lineal meter Jangtud 1 Bridge, and the 69-lineal meter Jangtud 2 Bridge.

Joining Villar and Hasim at the groundbreaking ceremony were Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man, DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain, Philippine Ambassador to Papua New Guinea Bienvenido Tejano, Korean Export Import Bank Country Director Sungho Jang, Northern Samar Governor Jose Ong Jr. and Vice Governor Gary Lavin Jr. Northern Samar Representative Edwin Ong (2nd District), former Representative Emil Ong, and DPWH Region 8 Director Edgar Tabacon. /muf