CALANASAN, Apayao – The completion of inter-regional and inter-provincial road networks in the different parts of the country will help spur economic growth in the countryside and will contribute in achieving the Aquino administration’s inclusive growth, a public works official said here.
Engr. Edilberto P. Carabbacan, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-CAR), said the completion of the P401.9 million road rehabilitation project in barangay Tanglagan here will be instrumental in improving access to undiscovered tourist destinations in the interior parts of Cagayan, Apayao and Ilocos Norte.
Carabbacan said the projects along the 16.75-kilmeter portion of the roadline includes widening of the road in order to meet the 30-meter width, concreting and the construction of slope protection walls and installation of appropriate drainages, guard rails, warning signs, regulatory signs and pavement markings.
“There will surely be a significant growth in tourism arrivals in the undiscovered tourist destinations in the three provinces. Foreign and domestic tourists will be guaranteed safe, better and easier access to their desired destinations in Apayao and the other adjacent provinces,” Carabbbacan stressed.
According to him, agriculture in the interior parts of Aayao, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan will also prosper because the products of farmers will be delivered to the nearest markets expeditiously.
He explained the living condition of the people in the areas traversed by the roadline will surely improve considering the convenient and easier travel to and from the places that are improved.
Considering that there were significant gains in the improvement of other road networks in the different parts of the Cordillera, the DPWH-CAR official cited one of the major priorities of the agency is to fastrack the completion of major road projects in Apayao in order to improve the inter-provincial and inter-regional accessibility primary geared towards achieving overall economic growth in the region.
He said the agency is closely monitoring the implementation of multi-million road rehabilitation projects in the different parts of the province so that the development of roads will be in the same pace as the development of roads in other provinces.
It can be recalled that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III committed that when he steps down from power by the end of June 2016, all national roads and 80 percent of secondary arterial roads shall have been concreted.
DPWH-CAR records show that as of the end of 2014, 85 percent of the more than 2,185 kilometers of national roads in the region were already concreted after the government infused a total of P16 billion over the past three years.
Carabbacan appealed to the motoring and commuting public to be patient in dealing with the inconveniences caused by the simultaneous implementation of infrastructure projects regionwide since the projects are designed to give them convenience because of better road conditions in the future. By Dexter A. See
