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Monday, January 12, 2004
Infra project fund in SoCot to hit P206M
THE Provincial Government of South Cotabato has set aside P206 million for the implementation of various infrastructure projects this year.
Bernard Dormitorio, provincial engineer, said they have lined up at least 68 infrastructure projects this year which would be primarily funded by the province's annual investment plan (AIP) which constitutes 20 percent of its annual budget.
Of the total funding, he said P42.797-million would go to repairs and maintenance of six road projects, while some P33.493-million would be allotted for the repair and maintenance of 11 bridge projects and at least 26 buildings and related infrastructure.
Dormitorio said the other proposed projects include four drainage systems, 10 flood control structures, three box culverts, five irrigation systems and six other related infrastructure facilities. These projects amount to P129.887 million.
"These projects were set based on the provincial government's goal to provide the necessary infrastructure that would eventually hasten the area's agro-industrial development," he said.
Dormitorio said South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes personally omitted to the focus the allotment of the province's resources on infrastructure projects, particularly in the rural areas.
Last year, Dormitorio said their office completed some P203.442-million worth of infrastructure projects.
"2003 was generally a thorny year for us but we still managed to go on with our mandate and completed 42 locally-funded and 11 nationally-funded projects," he said, adding only 12 local government and three national government-funded projects were carried over for this year.
Among the continuing projects in the province are major bridges linking agricultural production areas in Tampakan, Banga and T'boli and the Ned-Upper Sepaka access road in Lake Sebu town.
Dormitorio said his office repaired and maintained a total of 445 kilometers of provincial roads and 18 linear meters of bridges last year.
He said Koronadal City received the bulk of the projects with 29 followed by Tampakan, Tantangan and Lake Sebu with six each. T'boli had five projects, the towns of Polomolok, Banga and Surallah had four, Norala had three, Sto. Niņo had two and Tupi had one.
Last year's infrastructure funds came from the AIP, assistance from several senators, Department of Agrarian Reform-Asian Development Bank, President Arroyo's food security and bridge programs and loans from several financial institutions. Allen V. Estabillo
(January 12, 2004 issue)
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