CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Luzon (DPWH-3) said on Monday it will implement a total of 2,452 infrastructure projects this year.
DPWH-3 Regional Director Roseller A. Tolentino said some PHP98.47 billion was allocated for the implementation of various projects in the region.
Tolentino said Central Luzon received a 35.24 percent increase in this year's budget compared to the PHP72.3 billion released last year.
“Our big-ticket connectivity projects have been given appropriate funding to ensure that these access and bypass roads are fully operational at the earliest,” he said in a statement.
He particularly cited the construction of the Lubao-Guagua-Minalin-Sto. Tomas (LGMST) Road and the Palihan-Mabiga-SBMA Access Road which is now in full swing.
Other big-ticket connectivity projects, he said are the San Ildefonso-San Rafael-San Miguel Bypass Road and Capas-Botolan Road which are set for completion by 2025 and the 68.04-kilometer Dingalan-Doña Remedios Trinidad Road which already started construction.
“We are bent on improving connectivity within the industrial areas of the region so, we have proposed to the Regional Development Council the construction of a four-lane road that will link via an east-west lateral alignment the towns of Lubao and Arayat in Pampanga,” Tolentino said.
Likewise, he said the proposed Sto. Tomas-Arayat Bypass Road will start from the planned Sto. Tomas Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) which is part of the LGMST Road.
Meanwhile, Tolentino also said that of their total budget, some PHP1.3 billion will be spent for the development of important public structures under their jurisdiction.
“Aside from the implementation of projects under our mandate such as the replacement of weak bridges along national roads, and the construction of bypass roads, multipurpose facilities and flood mitigation structures, we are also set to begin the rehabilitation of existing traffic signals at major intersections along Manila North Road (MNR) and Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA),” he added. (PNA)
