By Teng L. Datu
Cotabato City Bureau Chief
Cotabato City — The government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will spend most of its 2018 infrastructure budget to build more roads across the region. The road projects would cost roughly P6.889 billion, or 68% of the total P10.103 billion earmarked under the region’s infrastructure program this year.
The Department of Public Works and Highways’s 2018 infrastructure budget will cover a total of 472 projects, which include 40 seaports, 86 water supply systems, 39 bridges, 17 flood control structures, 20 drainage systems, and 32 others.
Engr. Don Mustapha Loong, DPWH-Armm secretary, said 238 road projects with a total length of 361.65 kilometers will be funded this year. The department earlier projected it would pave a total of 1,922.982 kilometers of roads across the region from 2012 to 2017. As of December last year, it has already completed 1,334 kilometers, while a total of 420.356 kilometers of road concreting projects are still on-going.
“With more infrastructure projects, people in the region will have better access to tourism sites, will help boost the region’s economy as transport of goods and products will be cheaper, and will help uplift the peoples’ lives,” Loong said.
Armm Governor Mujiv Hataman said infrastructure development is one of the regional government’s top priorities. Gov. Hataman added that more infrastructure projects built would equate to greater impact in improving the lives of the people in the Armm.
A Level II water supply system, or communal faucet units, was turned over to the local government unit of Panglima Estino in Sulu on Jan. 4. The water system now supplies the town with safe and potable water. In the past, Panglima Estino sourced its supply of drinking water from deep wells and water pumps, which put the lives of residents at risk from water-borne diseases.
The massive infrastructure program of the regional government has also allowed the DPWH-Armm to contribute significantly to the job generation drive in the region.
To promote transparency and efficiency, the DPWH-Armm currently harnesses the E-Armm system aimed at establishing a database containing information on road projects within the region. This creates a network involving the regional office and eight district engineering offices that will serve as data repository. (with reports from bpi armm)
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