GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The Regional Development Council (RDC) of Region 12 has asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other concerned agencies to fast-track the implementation of various priority infrastructure projects in this city and the nearby provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato.
Arturo Valero, RDC-12 vice chairperson, said Monday such move was based on the monitoring conducted by the council’s Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) on 24 major projects in the area.
He said RDC specifically urged the concerned agencies to expedite the construction works and set interventions to resolve the problems encountered by the projects.
A report released by the committee showed that it specifically inspected the road widening and rehabilitation projects along the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani; bridge projects along the Sarangani road; water supply projects; farm-to-market roads; regional drug rehabilitation center project in Sarangani; and, the construction of the operations building and wharf for rail mounted gantry crane at the city’s Makar port.
It said most of these projects are being implemented by the DPWH’s South Cotabato and Sarangani district engineering offices.
Valero, who is also the regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the committee found “some bottlenecks and delays” in the implementation phases of the projects.
He said these were mainly caused by inclement weather condition, the poor condition of the roads leading to the project sites and the simultaneous implementation of the 2017 and 2018 road projects on the same stretches that “resulted in difficulty in the transportation and hauling of aggregates and other construction materials.”
The official noted that delays were encountered in the processing of the transfer of funds to the implementing agency and the non-removal of transmission lines, service lines and other structures of telecommunication companies that, in effect, delayed the implementation of road widening and bridge projects, particularly the Sinawal and Siguel bridges and the Digos-Makar road here.
Another problem was the non-issuance of permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regarding the cutting of trees in areas affected by road and bridge widening projects, he said.
Valero said the committee also conducted a special field monitoring visit to a road project and four flood control river bank protection projects in Sto. Niño town in South Cotabato traversed by the Allah River.
These projects were located in Barangays Panay, Ambalgan and Poblacion.
“The observations and recommendations of the RPMC on these projects were already acted upon by the implementing agency,” Valero added. (Anna liza Cabrido/PNA)
