By Betheena Kae Unite
The detailed design study of road improvement projects in the Bangsamoro Region is now underway, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently announced.
(DPWH / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
The department bared that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a governmental agency that coordinates Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan, will provide technical support to Philippines in carrying out detailed design study of the Road Network Development Project in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
Following a series of meetings between DPWH and JICA Study Team, the detailed design study for the 13.9-kilometers Matanog-Barira-Alamada-Libungan Road and 62.6-kilometers Tapian-Lebak Coastal Road in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindano (BARMM) will start to roll, Undersecretary Emil Sadain said.
By April 2020, an indicative cost for the civil work of Matanog-Barira-Alamada-Libungan Road and Tapian-Lebak Coastal Road is expected to be submitted. By then, potential sites leading towards construction of farm-to-market and tourist destination roads to develop agriculture and tourism in the region is also expected to be identified, the undersecretary said.
The JICA Study Team led by Shingo Gose is supported by Project Director Virgilio Castillo of the department’s Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Road Management Cluster 1 (Bilateral) as a coordinator of the Detailed Design Study in Manila and UPMO Project Manager Francisco Sawali and Assistant Secretary Danilo Ong of Ministry of Public Works-BARMM as a coordinators in Cotabato.
JICA is also assisting the reconstruction and development plan for Greater Marawi with a P970 million or P2 billion yen grant for the 18.97-kilometers Transcentral Roads, including the detailed engineering design for stage 2 Transcentral Roads, which involves the construction of 13 road sections.
“The project are ongoing of its implementation which plays a vital role in the rehabilitation program of Marawi City,” Sadain said.
Financing for the 21-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Roads stage 2 and the 19.8-kilometer Marawi City Ring Road are included in the P14-billion JICA loan signed on June 18, 2019 under the Road Network Development Project in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.
The construction of new roads to link inaccessible communities of Maguindanao Province is also included in the massive reconstruction of the war-torn Mindanao areas, which is seen to contribute to the consolidation of peace particularly the 35-kilometers Parang - Balabagan Road, 7-kilometers Parang East Diversion Road, and 16.8-kilometers Manuangan-Parang Road.