By Betheena Unite Two foreign-funded infrastructure projects in Bulacan and Pampanga have been under way in a bid to solve the provinces’ traffic and flooding situations, the Department of Public Works and Highways said Friday. Undersecretary Emil Sadain (PIA) Tagged as “high-impact” projects, the Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase III (Arterial Plaridel Bypass Road) in Bulacan and Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Low Lying Areas of Pampanga Bay are being hastened, Undersecretary Emil Sadain said. Construction progress of the contract package 1 of the 24.61-kilometer Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase III has reached 74 percent completion while the massive flood-mitigation project in Pampanga is now 20 percent accomplished. During a recent inspection conducted by Sadain and the project managers, contractors were directed to fast-track the projects and “strictly adhere to prescribed specifications and standards that will make the two Official Development Assistance (O.D.A.) projects last their supposed economic life.” Arterial Road Bypass in Bulacan was funded by loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The total cost of the project is pegged at P5.26 billion, a data from the agency showed. The implementation of the road project includes the widening of the 24.61-kilometer bypass road from two lanes to four lanes, construction of 10 bridges , drainage facilities, and slope stabilization works. It aims to reduce average travel time between Burol, Balagtas and Maasim, San Rafael in Bulacan from 69 minutes to 24 minutes. About 15,000 motorists are seen to benefit from the road per day. Two remaining contracts under the project are set for bidding in January 2020 as its completion is set in January 2022. TheP6.15-billion flood mitigation project in Pampanga, on the other hand, is a Korea Export–Import Bank -assisted project that involves the excavation and dredging of 30.3 kilometer of Third River and Third River Eastern Branch; river flow improvement of 23-kilometer Caduang Tete River and Sapang Maragul River, which aim to shorten flood duration from 66 days to 17 days or reduced by approximately 50 days. It also covers the repair eight sluice gates, construction of three new bridges and five footbridges. The massive flood-mitigation project started in June 2018 and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Sadain said that when completed, the road and flood control projects will be beneficial in improving existing traffic conditions especially in congested areas of Daang Maharlika in the Province of Bulacan and mitigate flooding in low-lying areas of Pampanga. The agency through its Unified Project Management Office is currently managing 26 big-ticket ODA projects nationwide, Sadain added.