17 more bridges for Region 6
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is constructing 17 bridges in Region 6 this year.
DPWH Assistant Secretary Emil Sadain said three will be constructed in Iloilo province, one in Capiz and 13 in Antique.
The projects, funded from a combination of a “soft loan” abroad and government funds, will reach P1.6 billion.
The Philippine government will have a soft loan from the Japanese government, Sadain said.
A soft loan is a loan “with almost zero interest,” he explained.
“We hope to (start the construction of all the bridges) before the year ends,” Sadain said.
For his part, DPWH Regional Director Rolando Asis said projects that were promised by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her State of the Nation Address will be delivered before she steps down from office this June.
Three major projects amounting to more than P5 billion are being implemented in Iloilo and Antique.
The biggest funded project to date is the Iloilo Flood Control which has been fast-tracked upon the instruction of Arroyo.
The P4.2-billion project is expected to be completed within the first quarter of the year.
Also ongoing construction is the access road going to the airport from the L-98 in Iloilo City towards the boundary of Pavia and Sta. Barbara towns in Iloilo and from the town of Zarraga.
The two projects are worth P1.2 billion.
Asis said they also hoped to complete the concreting of the P400-million Pandan to Libertad road in Antique soon. (PNA)
