Better roads pave way to Marawi City recovery – Villar

_{Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed road paving works for two out of the three contract packages for the improvement of the 18.97-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Road funded by a grant from the Japanese government.}

MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Mark Villar announced yesterday that the “Build Back Better” plan to improve roads in Marawi City is paving the way for recovery of economic activity from the aftermath of the 2017 siege in the country’s only Islamic city.

Villar said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed road paving works for two out of the three contract packages for the improvement of the 18.97-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Road funded by a grant from the Japanese government.

In his report to Villar, Public Works Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil Sadain said the road network included under contract packages 1B and 2, with a total length of 9.56 kilometers, is fully paved.

“This is first among the significant projects in the government’s comprehensive plan for the reconstruction and development for a greater Marawi prepared by DPWH,” Sadain said.

Sadain, together with UPMO project directors Virgilio Castillo and Sharif Madsmo Hasim and project manager Francisco Sawali, spearheaded the inspection of the 5.45-km contract package 1B and 4.11-km contract package 2, with the newly paved roads providing safety, comfort and convenience to the traveling public.

Contract Package 1B was undertaken by a joint venture between Al Hussein Construction and N.B. Salbo Construction and consists of the Bacong-Poona-Marantao-Marawi road, GMA Terminal Access, Marawi-Cadre-New Capitol, Marcos Boulevard and Idarus Road section.

Kouzbary Builders completed the major road works needed to cope with the current and future needs of travelers passing the MSU-GMA road and Lumindong-Amaipakpak avenue under contract package 2, which in the past were in dire need of capacity improvements because of an ever-expanding traffic load brought by a growing population.

Meanwhile, progress on contract package 1A or the Bacong-Iligan-Marawi road section, with a total length of 9.41 kilometers and under contract with the joint venture of Unimasters Conglomeration Inc., MMA Achievers Construction & Development Corporation, CDH Construction and Flying Seven Construction, is now 74 percent completed, with the contractors represented by Farrah Mangondato committed to deliver the completed work as scheduled this July 2021.

The entire road was financed by a 2-billion Japanese yen, or approximately P970-million, grant to the Philippines from the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the program to rehabilitate and reconstruct Marawi City and its surrounding areas.

The DPWH will also soon implement other significant infrastructure projects to be funded by JICA and the Asian Development Bank.

Article and Photo originally posted by Philippine Star last March 14, 2021 12:00am and written by Jose Rodel Clapano.