Sunday, February 15, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
CEBU CITY -- Malacañang has approved the funding for three of five proposed bridges that will connect mountain barangays in this city and are expected to improve farm-to-market roads in upland areas.
Construction of the bridges in Barangays Sapangdaku, Guadalupe and Pulangbato is expected to cost the National Government at least P15.3 million.
Valentine's 2009 blog
All three bridges will be funded under the "Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development Project" of the President's Bridge Program.
City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. said in a phone interview Sunday that the city has complied with the program's requirement that there should be roads leading to the proposed bridges.
This is for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to only construct the bridge structures.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority's (Neda) guidelines, the "no roads, no bridge" policy applies to all requests for bridges under the program.
Pe said the proposed bridges will improve the farm-to-market roads in the mountain barangays, a major concern for barangay officials.
According to the program of works and estimates (Powe) prepared by the Cebu City Engineer's Office, the two-lane Baksan Bridge would cost around P6,874,800 while the single-lane Dita-Sirao bridge in Barangay Pulangbato will cost P3,610,472.
The two-lane Guadalupe-Sapangdaku Bridge, which spans 12 meters, will cost the National Government some P4.8 million.
"The cost estimates are based on the Powe of our City Engineering Office and may escalate by approximately 15 percent if funding is made available next year," Pe told then Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde, in a letter dated September 28, 2008.
The Bonbon-Camarin Bridge and the Tagba-o Bridge, which were included in the list of proposed projects, however, were not funded under the President's Bridge Program. (LCR/Sun.Star Cebu)
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