Neda body ok's Marawi projects

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) approved on October 25 two projects for the rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi City.

These include the Rehabilitation and Development Plan (RDP) for a Greater Marawi – Stage 2, as well as the proposed programs and projects under the Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program (BMCRRP), for possible official development assistance (ODA) financing.

The RDP for Greater Marawi provides a viable solution for the rebuilding of Marawi City by fully utilizing the capability of various infrastructure projects as catalysts of redevelopment. RDP for a Greater Marawi – Stage 2, under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), involves the following sub-projects: Construction of 2-lane Marawi Transcendental Road, Phase 3 (23.90km); Construction of 2-lane Malabang Viaduct (1.6km); and implementation of five sub-projects under the BMCRRP. The five sub-projects are construction of a Main Outlet Drainage System; rehabilitation/Improvement of Beyaba Damag Open Channel;

construction of Slope Protection Works along Marawi-Bito Road; construction of Main Drainage Outlet Bangon-Luksadatu Lake Lanao, Phase II; and construction of Permanent Rorogagus Bridge. The RDP – Stage 2, which is expected to be completed by 2022, has an estimated project cost of PhP6,515.6 million and will be funded through official development assistance.

The ICC-CabCom also approved the list of programs and projects under the BMCRRP for possible ODA financing, with a total cost of P3,451,458 million. These include programs and projects in land resource management, social services, physical infrastructure, livelihood and business development implemented by the National Government or is in support of Local Government-implemented projects, and the construction of classrooms for permanent resettlement sites, in view of land-related issues arising from the Marawi siege.

Meanwhile, the ICC-CabCom also approved the fourth phase of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project (PMRCIP), executed by the DPWH, that will put in place flood management infrastructure (i.e., dikes, revetments, floodgates) along the 8 km stretch of the Lower/ Middle Marikina River, and the construction of the Marikina Control Gate Structure. The project will cost PhP33,097.58 million and will be funded through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA).

The Committee also approved an increase in cost for the third phase of the same project to P9,028.84 million from P7,545.16 million, due to necessary additional civil works, including dredging works, to implement the project.

The project covers the 5.4 km stretch of the Lower Marikina River, as well as the 9.9 km remaining sections between the Delpan Bridge and Napindan Channel covered under the second phase of the PMRCIP.