Ongoing projects for the rehabilitation of the Marawi City, which was ravaged by the five-month long siege between government forces and Islamic State-inspire militants in 2017, are set to be completed by December next year.
(PCOO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, who is also the chairman of Task Force Bangon Marawi, said all ongoing projects of the government on the city's rehabilitation are slated for completion by December 2021.
"Maganda po ang development sa ating Marawi rehabilitation project. Ang objective po natin is to make the Marawi the catalyst of growth and development, good governance, and a peaceful environment even beyond the rehabilitation," Del Rosario said in a virtual Palace briefing on Monday.
(The developments in our Marawi rehabilitation project are good. Our objective is to make Marawi the catalyst of growth and development, good governance, and a peaceful environment even beyond the rehabilitation.)
"Ang mandato natin na binigay ng ating Pangulo (The mandate that the President has given us) is to see to it that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again," he added.
Del Rosario said the government has already released more than P22 billion of the over P60 billion total funding requirement for the rehabilitation project as of August 2020.
Following the Marawi siege, which took place from May to October in 2017, Del Rosario said the task force immediately conducted early intervention activities from November that year until September 2018.
The first phase of the actual rehabilitation, he added, began on clearing the city off bombs and debris from October 2018 to February this year, while the second phase or the construction of horizontal and vertical infrastructure started on December 2019 and is expected to be completed by December next year.
Among the infrastructures completed during the rehabilitation project are the PNP-Community Police Assistnace Center (COMPAC) 1 and the Marawi Fire Substation in the less affected areas (LAA); and the Mapandi Bridge, Banggolo Bridge, and Maritime Outpost in the most affected areas (MAA).
The rest of the infrastructure projects are ongoing and are slated to be finished in 2021. These include the transitory shelters, Marawi Police Station, Salintubig Reservoir, correctional facility, transcentral roads, and permanent shelters in LAA; and pumping bridge, Marawi Museum, four-story school building, School fo Living Tradition, Peace Memorial Park, Grand Pagadian Market, and 24 barangay complex in MAA.
Meanwhile, the Housing chief said 123 units out of the 3,500 permanent shelters in the City are still undergoing construction and are 45.70 percent complete. These are expected to be finished also by December 2021.
Other infrastructure projects for the rehabilitation program in the City that are set to be rolled out include Tourist Police Building, Multi Modal Transport Hub, Hospital with Basic Equipment, Multi-Level Carpark, Halal Slaughterhouse, Marawi City Health Office, Road Infrastructure, Sewage Treatment Plant, Bulk Water System, Maritime Building, Port Facilities, nine school buildings, convention center, and Lanao Promenade.