LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan disclosed some P3.2 billion worth of numerous infrastructure projects are currently being implemented while some projects are being readied for implementation in the different parts of the province this year to help improve inter-municipal, inter-provincial and inter-regional linkages and spur the much awaited socio-economic growth in the remote villages.
The lawmaker said P2.95 billion have been programmed for the rehabilitation, upgrading, and development of various national roads, and more than P100 million for the improvement of farm to market roads, another P50 million for the construction of additional school buildings while other funds were sourced out from various government agencies for other soft and hard infrastructure projects provincewide.
“We continue to get more than the province’s share of the available resources of the national government. We believe almost all of our national roads will be fully paved within the next several years because of the substantial funds being infused by concerned government agencies primarily to improve the condition of roads leading to the countryside,” Cosalan stressed.
The three-term congressman underscored farmers will primarily benefit from the improved condition of many road networks in the province because the transport of agricultural crops from the farms to the trading centers will be faster and easier thereby resulting to lesser expenses on the maintenance of vehicles coupled with lesser damage to crops being transported and thus can be sold at better prices.
According to him, the funds for this year were equitably distributed to the various unfinished national roads and secondary national arterial roads like the Acop-Kapangan-Kibungan-Bakun-Buguias road, the Baguio-Asin-San Pascual-Aringay road, the Abatan-Manhoyohoy-Tinoc boundary road, among others, to interconnect the said roadlines with the neighboring towns of Tinoc, Ifugao and Aringay, La Union, thereby providing alternate routes for motorists wanting to utilize new road networks to visit the different parts of the Cordillera, Region I and Region II.
He assured provincial and municipal officials that he will closely work with the various government agencies to make sure that there will be additional projects for implementation in the province in the coming years so that its major road systems could be fully developed by 2019 and the insufficient number of school buildings will be addressed while more farm to market roads will be opened to sustain the improvement of the agriculture sector because Benguet is the source of over 80 percent of the highland vegetables being sold around the country.
Cosalan pointed out infrastructure development will be the primary driver of socio-economic development in the province because there will be increased economic activities in the remote communities if the said areas are linked by good roads.
By HENT
