Villar presents Bangsamoro road network dev’t project in Japan

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar has presented the Bangsamoro Road Network Development Project, which involves the improvement and construction of 200 kilometers of roads and bridges in Mindanao, during the Third Philippines-Japan Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation in Tokyo, Japan.

“The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already funded the feasibility study of the Bangsamoro Road Network Development Project. We have already formed a multi-sectoral steering committee, which will be chaired by Undersecretary Emil Sadain,” Villar noted.

“We are confident that by 2022, the road network in Bangsamoro will be fully completed,” he added.

The 10-billion road network will include roads in Matanog-Barira-Alamada-Libungan, Parang-Balabagan, Sibutu-Blensong-Nuro, Nuro-Pinansaran, Maganoy-Lebak, Tapian-Lebak Coastal, Marawi City Ring, Parang East Diversion, and Manuangan-Parang.

It will also include the Tunggol 2 Bridge and Pagalungan Bridge, both on the Davao-Cotabato road.

Aside from the Bangsamoro Road Network, the Japanese government was also supportive of the Davao City Bypass, a 44.6 km by-pass road with a 2.28 km tunnel, which is expected to reduce travel time from Digos to Panabo from one hour and 44 minutes via the Pan-Philippine Highway to only 49 minutes via the Davao By-Pass Road.