Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar announced 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 that the DPWH has already completed road paving works for two out of the three contract packages for the improvement of 18.97-kilometer Marawi Transcentral Road funded by a grant from the Japanese government.
In his report to the public works chief, DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil Sadain said that road network included under Contract Packages 1B and 2 with a total length of 10.56 kilometers were fully paved.
“This is first among the significant projects in the government’s comprehensive plan for the reconstruction and development for a Greater Marawi.”
“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 added.
“The newly paved roads provide safety, comfort, and convenience to the traveling public.”
The public works official, together with UPMO Project Directors Virgilio Castillo and Sharif Madsmo Hasim and Project Manager Francisco Sawali, spearheaded the inspection of 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, undertaken by Al Hussein Construction/N.B. Salbo Construction (joint venture), consists of Bacong-Poona-Marantao-Marawi Road, GMA Terminal Access, Marawi-Cadre-New Capitol, Marcos Boulevard, and Idarus Road Section.
Kouzbary Builders, owned and managed by Odin and Lani Kouzbary, 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 ever-expanding traffic load brought by the growing population.
Meanwhile, progress of Contract Package 1A or the Bacong-Iligan-Marawi Road Section with a total length of 9.41 km and under contract with Unimasters Conglomeration Inc./MMA Achievers Construction & Development Corporation/CDH Construction/ Flying Seven Construction (Joint Venture) is now 74 percent completed with the contractors represented by Farrah Mangondato committed to deliver completion of works as scheduled this July 2021.
The road project was financed by a ¥2 billion grant (approximately P970 million) to the Republic of the Philippines from the Government of Japan thru the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Programme for the Support to Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Marawi City and Its surrounding Areas.
DPWH will also soon implement other significant infrastructure projects to be funded by JICA and Asian Development Bank in line with the efforts for the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation of Marawi City.