DPWH says farm-to-market roads project 85% complete

More than 440 kilometers of farm-to-market roads worth P2.36 billion has been completed under the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project Phase 3, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported on Friday, noting the completion rate has reached 85 percent.

 

The remaining 15 percent of the undertaking is expected to be finished within the year.

 

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said the project is part of the 126 farm-to-market roads that should benefit hundreds of agriculture communities across the country.

 

In Luzon, 234.78 kms of roads were finished so far at a cost of P1.310 billion that included improvements and extensions of existing roads, as well as the 7.8-km San Antonio-Mapalad-Bautista road with 22 linear meters in Isabela, and the 16-km Bugnay-Buscalan-Butbut Road in the municipality of Tinglayan in Kalinga, the department noted.

 

Agrarian communities in Visayas now have 84.34 kms of farm-to-market roads that cost P497 million, according to DPWH.

 

In Mindanao, 28 projects were completed in Regions 10, 11, 12, and 13 – spanning a combined length of 101.98 kms, it said.

 

Once fully completed, Singson said the roads will provide agriculture goods better access to markets and support the establishment of agri-business enterprises by promoting linkages between and among the 175 agrarian reform communities in 54 provinces.

 

In 2013, DPWH and the Department of Agriculture received P1.92 billion to implement flood control and farm-to-market road projects. 

 

Of the amount, the DA received P693 million for the repair, rehabilitation and construction of farm-to-market roads across the Philippines. – Rie Takumi/VS, GMA News