Sunday, February 04, 2007
Interior office turns over infra projects to Mindanao
THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has so far given 13 completed projects worth P343 million to various local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao under a program that aims to construct, upgrade, and rehabilitate basic social infrastructure and service facilities in the island's urban and poor communities.
DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno said the projects, which include the construction and rehabilitation of public markets, gymnasiums, cultural centers, water supply, municipal buildings, and transport terminals will benefit 11 provinces in Mindanao.
These projects form part of the Arroyo administration's P1.48-billion Mindanao Basic Urban Services Sector Project (MBUSSP), which aims to improve the quality of life in Mindanao by institutionalizing the capacity of LGUs to provide and rehabilitate infrastructure and other essential services, Puno said.
"This Mindanao project was initiated by the government to help correct the deficiencies in the provision of basic urban infrastructure services in the resources-rich island," Puno said. "As we complete the projects covered by this initiative, the beneficiaries, who are residents of mostly poor communities in Mindanao, would gain better access to basic services in their respective localities," he said.
The MBUSSP, which covers 30 to 40 LGUs from the six regions in Mindanao, consists of an infrastructure investments component and an institutional capacity building component to help LGUs better manage and sustain the projects under the program.
The program is being implemented through loan grants from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), counterpart funding from the DILG and equity provided by the LGUs.
For the 13 completed projects, the ADB provided a P183.73 million sub-loan grant; LBP, P63.48 million; the National Government through the DILG, P43.68 million; and the LGUs shelled out equity totaling P52 million, Puno said.
These completed projects are the provision of one unit of vibratory roller for road asphalting in Norala, South Cotabato; the construction and rehabilitation of four public markets in R.T. Lim and Alicia in Zamboanga Sibugay, Buluan in Maguindanao, and Dumalinao in Zamboanga del Sur; the construction of a cultural exhibition center in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; three municipal halls in Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur, Jalonga, Agusan del Norte, and Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; water supply in Naawan, Misamis Oriental; a gymnasium in San Isidro, Surigao del Norte; and two bus terminals in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat and Kidapawan City in Cotabato.
Puno said 17 other projects under the infrastructure investments component of the MBUSSP are ongoing in the provinces of Maguindanao, Agusan del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Surigao del Norte.
The MBUSSP also covers projects on sanitation, drainage and flood control; solid waste management; traffic management; and construction and/or upgrading of streetlights, roads, bridges, slaughterhouses, hospitals and school buildings and public parks. (Press release)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (February 4, 2007 issue)
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