A top official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) visited Marawi City, Lanao del Norte/Misamis Occidental, and Zamboanga Peninsula to ensure smooth implementation of big-ticket projects in Mindanao despite the COVID 19 pandemic.
DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain had a clearer picture on the progress of Mindanao’s “build, build, build” projects as he together with Project Director Sharif Madsmo H. Hasim and Project Managers Francisco Sawali, Emmanuel Supe and Cristino Agtang led the inspection from August 26-29 of Marawi Transcentral Road, detailed engineering activities offshore at Panguil Bay in Tubod (Lanao Del Norte) and Tangub (Misamis Occidental), and core road projects in Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga Del Norte.
Maintaining a high level of health safety for construction worker in compliance with the policy instruction of Secretary Mark A. Villar, the contractors of Marawi Transcentral Road Project have worked with apparent speed to make-up for lost days of the work suspension from March to May due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The contract package 2 covering two road sections of MSU-GMA Terminal Road and Lumidong-Amaipakpak Road is about 83% complete and is anticipated to be fully completed by this last quarter of CY 2020.
The conduct of geotechnical investigation offshore at Panguil Bay is being fast-track with the gathered results as well as bathymetric data as vital reference for the final design to ensure that the future 3.7-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge is built on good foundations with high strength to weight ratio.
According to Undersecretary Sadain, about 23 more borehole test analysis out of the 45 geotechnical tests will be undertaken for the final design plan target to be completed by December 2020 and to begin civil works by first quarter of 2021.
In Zamboanga Peninsula, three (3) core road projects of the Asian Development Bank-assisted Improving Growth Corridors for Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP) are moving forward since projects started in March 2019.
The projects are Alicia-Malangas Road and Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga Road in Zamboanga Sibugay and Tampilisan-Sandayong Road in Zamboanga del Norte.
To date, the 23.73 kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road project has posted an accomplishment of 24.47 percent with the 29.10 kilometer Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga Road at 30.86 percent, and 15.07 kilometer Tampilisan-Sandayong Road at 25.58 percent.