THE northern Cebu town of Daanbantayan will soon have a multipurpose building that will serve as an event venue and an evacuation center.
This was disclosed by Mayor Sun Shimura, who presided over the P300 million project’s groundbreaking on Friday, June 8, 2023, which was attended by fourth district Representative Janice Salimbangon.
Shimura, who is also the president of the League of Municipalities in the Philippines-Cebu Chapter, revealed that they got an initial funding of P39.1 million from Salimbangon through the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH 7).
According to Shimura, the building, which can accommodate 15,000 evacuees during disaster, would be known as the Daanbantayan Astrodome.
A basketball court with a capacity for 5,100 people, the Astrodome can host events including basketball games, concerts, and other activities.
The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, other government agencies and commercial spaces will be housed in this facility.
Duros Construction, the project's contractor, will begin working on the project next week, according to Shimura.
Shimura and Salimbangon hoped to receive additional funding from the national government so they could complete the building's construction before the 2025 election.
According to Shimura, they have only raised about 13 percent of the entire amount required for the project.
But he added that he had collaborated with the office of Senator Sherwin Gachalian, who had pledged to give additional funding.
He claimed that he also solicited support for the project from the offices of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who are his godfathers in the wedding. (PAC, TPT)