GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) deployed seven additional road construction and maintenance equipment to Region 12 as part of its continuing re-fleeting program.
Ellen Torino, DPWH-Region 12 public information officer, said Thursday the new batch of equipment comprised of four dump trucks, two road rollers and a lane marker-remover amounting to P16 million.
She said these were acquired by the DPWH central office under the 2017 re-fleeting program based on the needs of the region.
“These will be used for the maintenance of our roads, especially the unpaved shoulders,” she said.
The new equipment arrived at the DPWH regional office in Koronadal City on Wednesday and were immediately deployed to various district engineering offices.
The Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat-I district engineering offices received a dump truck each, while Cotabato-I and Sultan Kudarat-II each got a dump truck and a road roller.
The lane marker remover was for the shared use of the eight DPWH district engineering offices in Region 12.
Also known as Soccsksargen, the region is made up of the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
In 2016, the South Cotabato I and II district engineering offices initially received one unit each of backhoe, loader and road rollers.
For this year, Torino said the regional office is slated to receive eight more maintenance crew service vehicles, four road rollers and two dump trucks.
Basir Ibrahim, DPWH-12 regional director, said the deployment of the additional equipment will improve their operations, especially in the maintenance of national highways and the implementation of priority infrastructure projects.
He specifically cited projects under the flagship “Build, Build, Build” program of the national government.
For 2018, he said the agency is implementing a total of 779 projects, mostly road upgrading, development and expansion, throughout the region.(PNA)
