P220 million worth Lanao Sur road project launched

LANAO DEL SUR --- Maranaw peasants in two Lanao del Sur towns stand to benefit from a P220 million road project that would connect their enclaves to major trading hubs in the province and in Bukidnon.Lanao del Sur is a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) while Bukidnon is inside Administrative Region 10.ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Lanao del Sur’s chief executive, Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr. on Friday signed a memorandum of agreement enjoining their respective offices to jointly implement the construction of an 11-kilometer road designed to link Kapai and Tagoloan towns.The regional public works secretary of ARMM, Engineer Don Mustapha Loong, also affixed his signature to the document.Loong and Hataman both urged local civil society organizations and religious groups to help monitor the implementation of the project, meant to hasten the restoration of normalcy in the province in support of the Mindanao peace process.Loong said the new arterial network will interconnect Marawi City to nearby towns in Bukidnon and to Cagayan de Oro City, which is the administrative capital of Region 10.Loong and Hataman had both said they did not doubt the capability of the Lanao del Sur provincial government to pursue the project since it has the needed manpower and equipment to expedite its implementation.Loong said the P220 million for the road project will be drawn from the P1.4 billion infrastructure budget the ARMM government allocated for Lanao del Sur this year. We still have many other upcoming projects for Lanao del Sur,” Loong said.Provincial officials, led by Adiong, Hataman and Loong on Friday launched the P220 million road project with a symbolic groundbreaking rite witnessed by local residents and representatives from the police and the military.