TAWI-TAWI (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 25, 2012) – The Department of Public Works and Highways in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are set to inaugurate two of three modular bridges it recently completed in the remote southern province of Tawi-Tawi, officials said.
Officials said the development project, worth around P327 million, is part of the President Benigno Aquino’ Bridge Program, aimed at enhancing the trade and commerce in Tawi-Tawi, one of five provinces under the ARMM.
The amount included the civil works and a road connecting the bridges in the capital town of Bongao. The total length of the steel bridges is about 172 meters.
“The third bridge is nearing completion and we hope to inaugurate the two completed modular bridges. This project will further boost the local economy and help hasten trade and commerce in Tawi-Tawi,” DPWH-ARMM Secretary Emil Sadain told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said before the construction of the bridges, traders and residents will have to travel nearly three hours to get from one point to another, but the modular bridges have cut the travel time drastically to only 30 minutes.
“We are really working hard to bring peace and development projects to different areas and provinces in the autonomous region and we are continuing this ‘daan na matuwid’ that President Aquino is espousing as part of the government’s reform program,” Sadain said. (Mindanao Examiner. With a report from Mark Navales)
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