COTABATO CITY – The government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said it will invest most of its 2018 infrastructure budget to build more roads, seaports and bridges among others to further boost its economy that will benefit the people.
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 (DPWH)-ARMM’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 high-impact projects.
Engr. Don Mustapha Loong, DPWH-ARMM Secretary, said some 238 road projects with a total length of 361.65 kilometers will be funded this year. DPWH-ARMM 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,” Engr. 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 January 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 including connectivity conditions and other public infrastructure projects within the region. This creates a network involving the regional office and eight district engineering offices that will serve as data repository.
“With the E-ARMM system, identification of right projects will be made easy that will lead towards accelerating the socio-economic condition of the ARMM,” said Sec. Loong. Through the E-ARMM, the public can easily check paved and unpaved roads in the region, he added.
The DPWH-ARMM now boasts of having evolved from an agency previously identified with corruption to be a model agency for transparency and efficiency in the region. (Bureau of Public Information)
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