Davao City—Two road projects that are vital to the agricultural sector of Mindanao are nearing completion.
Costing P1.634 billion, these projects are seen to provide alternate and faster routes across provinces and cities and to make marketing life easier for poor farmers in the region.
The road projects are the 58.55-kilometer highway connecting Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur and the 32.96-km road connecting the interior
agricultural areas of Lupon and the capital of Davao Oriental, Mati City.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 12 said it has set its sights on completing soon the Maguindanao to Davao del Sur road, a project that was started before 2020. It was stalled due to the mobility restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19.
The Philippine News Agency quoted DPWH-12 Director Basir M. Ibrahim as saying that the Datu Paglas-Columbio-Matanao road project connecting the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao del Sur was 91.2 percent complete.
“It is composed of a 23.2-kilometer road opening and concreting which also includes two bridges with a total length of 240 meters,” Ibrahim said.
Construction has reached Matanao town in Davao del Sur.
The road weaves its way away from the national highway and into the rice and vegetable production areas of these provinces while connecting these agricultural areas to their markets in the cities and provincial capitals.
Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat are in the Cotabato plain, which is known as the country’s rice bowl, due to its massive rice output. Central Luzon holds the distinction of being the country’s rice granary.
“Once the road project is completed, travel time from Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat to Matanao, Davao del Sur would be reduced from four hours and 10 minutes to only two hours and 20 minutes,” Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim said improved mobility would have people getting more access to better economic opportunities and government services, “thus, alleviate the lives of those living in the once considered far-flung communities.”
Davao Oriental road network
For a foreign-funded development program that centers on supporting existing economic enterprise or providing marketing support, the road project in Davao Oriental is currently the longest road project in the entire country.
Abel James Monteagudo, DA-11 Davao regional director of the Department of Agriculture, said the road network is one of the longest road projects implemented under the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP). The PRDP is being implemented by the DA.
The DA only recently opened this road network in Davao Oriental, traversing through Barangays Macangao, Tagboa, New Visayas, and San Isidro in Lupon town and to the barangays of Libudon, Sanghay, Culian, and parts of Badas in Mati City, according to a PNA report.
The provincial government said the road network is 32.96 kilometers long and cuts through eight barangays.
The project was started in 2017 and it was completed in 2020, but the formal turnover was held in abeyance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was formally turned over by Governor Nelson Dayanghirang on March 16 in a ceremony in Barangay Macangao, the PNA added.
The provincial government said the PRDP took charge of the 14.36 kilometers with P218.1 million and the remaining 18.6 kilometers with a bridge component was taken from the DILG’s Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) of P366.1 million.
The CMGP is a facility that gives funds to local governments as counterpart to any foreign-funded or assisted projects in their locality.
In total, the road project costs P534.2 million.
‘Economic stimulus’
The road that runs through agricultural production areas is expected to help stimulate economic activities and fight poverty, Dayanghirang said. The road network’s “significance is to ensure peace and order in the com munities, and the fast delivery of government services to these far-flung communities.”
“By providing necessary infrastructures to support the people’s livelihood, we are assured of advancing development and reducing poverty among our people.”
Monteagudo has urged the communities to help maintain the integrity of the road network, and to ensure the proper usage and monitoring of the road’s condition.