TIEZA earmarks P20 Million for Burnham walkway

THE STATE-run Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) earmarked some P20 million for the improvement of the interior walkway of the Burnham lake to improve its current condition that will be attractive to both residents and tourists.

City Environment and Parks Management Officer Cordelia Lacsamana said plans for the project are being prepared in coordination with the City Engineering Office prior to submission to the TIEZA so that the noble tourism project will be implemented and completed by the end of the year.

“We are grateful to TIEZA for providing Burnham Park with funding support to improve its current state so that residents and tourists will be enticed to frequent the city’s premier park and enjoy its facilities,” Lacsamana stressed.

Lacsamana claimed the interior walkway of the lake has become uneven due to the different projects that were implemented through the years which made its surface slippery and unsafe to the public, especially during the rainy season.

TIEZA officials were in the city previously to look into the project and coordinate the preparation of the required plans for the improvement of the condition of the lake’s interior walkway.

Lacsamana said the improvement of the lake’s interior walkway aims to make the pavement even aside from using porous pavers to make the same safe for the public even during the rainy season.

The city’s environment officer said that the implementation of the improvement of the lake’s interior pavement will be one of the major projects that will be jointly implemented by the TIEZA and the local government to sustain the development of the city’s premier park that will guarantee the increase of residents and tourists visiting the different portions of the park for recreational and amusement purposes.

Lacsamana appealed to park goers to bear with the temporary inconveniences that will be caused by the implementation of the project because the park will be in a better condition once the project will be completed by the end of the year.

It can be recalled that former President and now Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo transferred to the local government the operation, management and administration of Burnham Park through the issuance of Executive Order No. 695 that amended Executive Order No. 224, series of 1995 that was previously issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos for the same purpose.

Under the presidential issuance, the local government cannot mortgage, alter or encumber portions of the 34-hectare park without the authority of the Secretary of the Department of Tourism.

Lacsamana said the local government will take advantage of the summer season to implement the programmed priority development projects funded through available local funds so that there will be lesser problems compared to implementing projects during the rainy season. Dexter See