P1.4B for Bicol tourism infra projects OK’d

Other News

LEGAZPI CITY — Fresh funds amounting to over P1.4B have been allocated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to projects that would boost Bicol’s booming tourism industry.

The projects to be funded are under the Convergence Program on Enhancing Tourism Access (CPETA) that the DPWH is implementing in partnership with the Department of Tourism.

DPWH Regional Director Ronnel Tan on Tuesday said that among the major projects under CPETA is the improvement of a road connecting Tabaco City and Malinao town, both in Albay, with Buhi, Camarines Sur, worth P591M.

Others are the improvement with construction of two concrete bridges of the President Cory Aquino Boulevard, a five-kilometer coastal road along the famous Bagasbas Beach in Daet, Camarines, for P450M; the Iriga-Buhi Road in Camarines Sur worth P368M; and the Virac-Antipolo-Igang Road in Virac, Catanduanes, for P75M. These road projects, according to Tan, will provide safe, efficient, convenient, and easy access to tourism-identified areas, fortifying Bicol’s tourism roadmap for development.

CPETA, he said, is in support of the strategic approach in Bicol tourism development being pursued by Albay Governor and Regional Development Council Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, such as the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon Tourism Alliance and the Catanduanes-Camarines Sur-Camarines Norte Tourism Link, aimed at accelerating tourism development and enhancing the region’s attractiveness.

Tan said the funding was provided through DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson based on the endorsements made last year by the RDC and on the need of these tourism clusters for completion of priority projects with the likes of infrastructure development to make the region fully accessible to its external market. The DPWH and the DOT regional offices in Bicol, he said, have long been pushing for an aggressive program in providing quality roads and bridges that will encourage tourist influx in the region.

According to Salceda, increase in tourist arrivals will certainly step up economic opportunities not only in rural areas but also in urban centers. These roads target the improved tourist arrivals, thereby correspondingly uplifting the economic condition of Bicolanos through anticipated boom in the tourism industry, the Albay governor added.

Last year, the DPWH Central Office has also provided an amount of P849.728M for Bicol roads leading to tourist destinations wherein P409.460M have been assigned for the province of Camarines Norte, P250.268M for Camarines Sur, and P190M for Sorsogon.

This new fund, according to Tan, is part of the P8.65B allocation provided by DPWH to Bicol this year under the National Expenditure Program (NEP). The whole amount, Tan said, represents a slight increase from last year’s budget of P8.542B provided under the 2013 National Appropriations Act.

The whole amount will fund a total of 247 projects for implementation in the entire region, with the biggest bulk going to Camarines Sur which is allocated P2.425B for 73 projects.

Tan said, Albay, gets P2.388B earmarked for 33 projects; Camarines Norte, P1.108B for 46 projects; P996.5M for Sorsogon’s 38 projects; P891.061M for 31 projects in Catanduanes; and P840.31M for 26 projects in Masbate. Almost half of the whole amount of NEP appropriation for Bicol this year will be implemented by the DPWH regional office, particularly those projects beyond the limit of authority granted to district engineering offices but whose amount does not exceed P150M pursuant to DPWH Department Order No. 55, series of 2010, he added. - Danny O. Calleja