NEDA board OKs 2 WV infra projects
Two major infrastructure projects in Western Visayas have been included in the P5.5 billion worth of projects recently approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board.
NEDA identified in its press report these projects as the Bacolod Airport Access Road (Bacolod-Silay Road) in the province of Negros Occidental and the Caticlan Airport Development Project in Aklan.
The P972-million New Bacolod airport access road project was proposed by the Department of Public Works and and Highways (DPWH). It intends to connect the said airport in Silay City to Bacolod City to reduce traffic congestion in the Bacolod Coastal Road.
The construction of the New Bacolod airport access road is expected to start this year and will be financed through national government funds. It has a total length of 10.12 kilometers and a two-lane road will be initially opened in 2011. It will be widened into a four-lane road by the end of 2018.
NEDA said its Board likewise approved the unsolicited Build-Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer (BROT) proposal for the Caticlan Airport Development Project which involves the rehabilitation of the existing Caticlan airport to accommodate the increasing passenger traffic bound for Boracay Island and other tourist destinations in Region VI.
The project also aims to increase the capacity of the airport terminal for greater passenger traffic, accommodate regional flights and larger aircrafts and improve quality of service and passenger safety and security in the area.
The construction or rehabilitation of the PhP2.5-billion airport project is targeted to start this year. The Air Transportation Office (ATO) will manage the airport until 2010 while the Caticlan International Airport and Development Corporation (CIADC), who will finance the project, will take over its operation by 2011 to 2033. (PIA)