ILOILO CITY, Sept. 10 (PNA) -– The provincial government here awaits the decision of World Bank (WB) on their proposed rehabilitation of 28-kilometer Imbang Grande-Tagubong-Gemumua Agahon-Agtabo farm-to-market road in Passi City – the longest in the whole of Visayas.
The proposed road concreting is expected to cost P262,968,249 wherein 80 percent has to come from World Bank and rest would be the counterpart of national and local government.
Planning Officer III Mila Dellomo of the Provincial Planning and Development Office said the Letter of No Objection from World Bank is all they have been waiting for in order for the implementation to commence.
“Once we received the notice of no objection, the province, as the implementing agency, will proceed with the bidding process,” Dellomo said.
The Regional Project Advisory Board of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture recently endorsed the project to the World Bank.
PRDP is a six-year World Bank funded program (2013-2018) designed to establish an inclusive, market-oriented and climate resilient agriculture and fisheries sector through strategic investments in priority commodity value chains.
Dellomo explained that the project is shortlisted for it is located in an area stricken by Super Typhoon Yolanda and the component city is among the top ten swine producers in the province.
The proposed road project begins at the junction of the national highway connecting Passi City and the municipalities of San Enrique and San Rafael.
It traverses Barangays Imbang Grande, Jaguimitan, Salngan, Alimono and will end in Barangay Tagubong.
From Barangay Tagubong, it branches out up to Barangay Gemumua-Agahon and from that road section, it again expanded up to Barangay Dalicanan and end at Barangay Agtabo.
Ray Cabarles, a government employee and resident of Barangay Sablogon in Passi City, said he would be personally grateful to World Bank if it decided to transform the dirt road into a concrete pavement.
“I have been in Gemumua-Agahon once and it was only after Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. paved the road with sand and gravel in 2012. Before, that road is really impassable,” he recalled.
The road is currently accessible to all types of vehicle during the dry season. But when the wet season comes, some portions of the road are not passable to jeepneys and tricycles.
Trucks and motorcycles, on the other hand, could manage the soft-muddy portions of the existing road network.
The present road condition makes the cost of transporting people and goods very expensive, due to high vehicle operating cost.
Passengers are paying Php50.00 each in a single trip and if they have cargos with them, the fee may vary depending on the weight of their goods.
This makes selling and transporting crops in smaller volume unprofitable to farmers due to high hauling cost.
The people in the area are also compelled to ride the jeepney at 1:00 a.m. in going to city proper since the vehicle can only make two trips in a day.
In their demand-supply analysis, PPDO reiterated that the construction of a concrete road could close the gaps or problems identified from the current road condition.
Once it is realized, vehicle operating cost will be at the minimum. The cost of transportation will also be reduced, travel time will be lessened into half and the travel time saved can be allocated in performing productive activities.
Road accidents may also be minimized as well as post-harvest losses. (PNA)