Cabinet body okays P1.142-billion Albay West Coast Road

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines  – The Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) – Cabinet Committee has recently given the go-signal for the implementation of the Albay West Coast Road, a vital 43-kilometer highway connecting the port towns of Pioduran and Libon. The project will be funded by a P1.142-billion grant from the government of South Korea.

Considered an essential link to the growth of Albay and adjacent areas of the Bicol Region, the project is programmed for construction from 2014 to 2017. The ICC-Cabinet Committee is a government body mandated and tasked to regularily assess and review the fiscal, monetary and balance of payments implications of major capital projects in the country.

The West Coast Road is an ambitious venture designed to open up Albay’s poverty stricken but potentially rich areas in its 3rd district. It was pioneered by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda in 1998 when he was still a congressman. It took 13 years of fund sourcing to see its eventual realization.

Salceda said the project aims to provide better and efficient market access for isolated western coastal barangays of Albay, especially for perishable marine products. Pioduran town is being groomed as Bicol’s regional fish port while Libon is envisioned to become an international seaport.

The governor noted with gratification South Korea’s growing interest in key development projects in the Philippines. Particularly Albay which has an official economic partnership agreement with the Metropolitan City of incheon. The partnership, he said, may have helped in sourcing funds for the Albay West Coast Road. Salceda is presently International Economic Advisor of the incheon, Metropolitan Authority.

The coastal road project is a major component of Albay Rising, a vast economic growth strategy designed by Salceda when he assumed its governorship in 2007. The strategy includes, among others the 2015 completion of the P3.4-billion Southern Luzon International Airport and the robust tourism flow expected to follow suit.

The project was approved by the ICC-technical board in 2010 before it went through the scrutiny of the ICC-Cabinet Committee, composed of the heads of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Finance )DOF) and Budget and Management (DBM), among others.

Salceda said the budget strategy and fund release schedule for the project are as follows: P56 million will be released in 2014; P328 million in 2015; P427 million in 2016; and P331 million in 2017.