DBM approves release of P3.8-B for DPWH road upkeep
MANILA, Feb. 22 (PNA) — Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad announced on Monday a P3.8-billion fund release to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the routine repair and maintenance of national roads and bridges, further cementing the Aquino government’s commitment to improving and rehabilitating national roads in the country.
“The road maintenance program under the DPWH is one of the avenues through which the Administration can preserve key national assets. In ensuring the repair and upkeep of nationwide roads and bridges, we not only facilitate the ease and efficiency of transit in the country; we also pave the way for long-term and sustainable economic growth,” Abad said.
The fund release comprises 95 percent of the P4-billion DPWH allocation for routine maintenance activities, currently covered by R.A. 10155 of the 2012 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Of the P3.8-billion fund, 74 percent or P3 billion will be used to maintain the carriageway of national roads and bridges to preserve their structural integrity and serviceability. Specific activities under this fund are identified as pavement maintenance, regravelling, and bridge and structure maintenance.
Meanwhile, P630.2 million or 16 percent of the release will be directed to roadside upkeep activities, such as the maintenance of road shoulders, road drainage systems, and traffic services.
The remaining 5 percent or P200 million of the total release will be treated as an emergency fund for the quick restoration and reinstatement of roads and road structures affected by disasters. This is outside the P550 million in Quick Release Funds for Disaster Related Rehabilitation Projects, which the Department of Budget and Management has already released to the DPWH.
“The repair and maintenance of national roads and bridges should also account for unforeseen disasters, be they natural or man-made. All in all, the 2012 GAA aims for the comprehensive preservation of our road structures, from executing preventive or routine upkeep, all the way to establishing a well-developed response system in the face of calamities,” Abad said.
The P4-billion fund, from which the current P3.8-billion release is sourced, is part of the P7.3-billion allocation to the DPWH for the routine maintenance of existing national roads. The agency aims to preserve 31,230 kilometers of roads by the end of FY 2012.
Abad noted that the recent fund release will reinforce DPWH efforts to ramp up infrastructure and public construction activity in 2012. The agency previously reported that 59 percent of its 2012 programs have already been bid out and awarded as of mid-February this year.
The DPWH has also confirmed that construction initiatives will speed up even more as contract approvals and the notices to proceed for contractors will be rolled out by the end of February. The go signal will apply to 228 projects worth P50 million to P150 million, while another set of projects costing over P150 million will be set in motion by the end of March. (PNA)
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