A three-kilometer access road leading to a famous hiking destination in Bataan is under construction, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced.
The construction of the 3.3-kilometer access road is now 80 percent completed and is expected to be finished by April this year.
The road will provide better access to Mt. Natib in Orani, Bataan.
According to Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, more tourists are expected to visit Mt. Natib with the ongoing improvement of the access road.
DPWH Bataan First District Engineer Erlindo Flores Jr., said a total of P96.5 million was allotted under the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the construction of the tourism road.
“Once completed, safer and more convenient travel awaits not only tourists going to this ecotourism zone but also for motorists and residents transporting their local products,” Villar said.
“As the country’s tourism is slowly easing to normal to aid national recovery, the Department of Public Works and Highways is also fast tracking the concreting of the Mulawin-Tala Road going to Bataan National Park,” he added.
Meanwhile, Villar also announced that a new flood control structure has been completed in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
“We have completed the 181-linear meter flood control wall along Baliwag River not just to prevent flooding in the community but also to protect farmlands of Novo Ecijanos,” Villar said.
According to DPWH Nueva Ecija First District Engineer Gerardo De Guzman, the recently completed structure in Barangay Mapangpang amounting to P35.3 million was funded under the 2020 GAA.
The construction of the 187-meter flood control structure in Barangay Sibut, San Jose City aimed to prevent inundation of the Talavera River especially during typhoon season was also completed.
“We aim to complete more preventive structures like these in the low-lying communities of Nueva Ecija and enable economic progress,”Villar added.