WB approves P257-M farm-to-market road rehab in Iloilo

The World Bank (WB) has approved a P257.8-million road rehabilitation project to support the farmers in Passi City, Iloilo. 

 

The Washington-based lender has issued last week the No-Objection Letter 2 (NOL2) to fix the 28-kilometer Imbang Grande-Tagubong-Gemumua-Agahon-Agtabo Farm-to-Market Road (FMR), a project under the Department of Agriculture's Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) in the Visayas, the Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.

 

In a letter to PRDP Project Director and Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad, WB Task Team Leader for PRDP Carolina Geron told the department to ensure that the project is tightly monitored throughout its implementation.

 

"Ensure that all construction and quality control equipment must be geotagged and key personnel must be mobilized within one month from the issuance of the Notice to Proceed," Geron said.

 

The WB is requiring contractor to submit the geotagged photos of the sub-project to the Iloilo provincial local government showing the status prior to the construction and the progress in subsequent months until the project is finished.

 

Palad said the road rehabilitation mainly supports the production and marketing of swine, rice, sugarcane, and corn in 51 barangays. 

 

"The FMRs will not only help spur the development of the agriculture industry but can spur other economic activities as well and improve the overall economy in the rural areas," he added. 

 

The project is a counterpart initiative between the DA-PRDP and the Iloilo provincial local government. PRDP will finance 90 percent of the project cost while the LGU will shoulder the remaining 10 percent. – Trisha Macas/VS, GMA News