$214.44M Samar road projects to start in August

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  — After rigid screening of interested contractors, the contract was awarded and the winning bidder will start constructing the Secondary National Roads Development Project (SNRDP) on August 15, an undertaking funded by a $214.44-million Millennium Challenge Corporation five-year grant.

Rene Galapon, project engineer of the DPWH-Region 8, told the PIA-8 that the winning contractor will work on the project’s Contract Package 3 which would be the rehabilitation of a 64.6-km road from the boundary of San Julian and Sulat towns to Balangkayan and Llorente towns, all in Eastern Samar.

He said this was the first segment of the four phases of the SNRDP set for bidding because the design consultant had completed the detailed engineering designs activities, including road surveys, pavement tests, geotechnical and drainage/hydrology studies, bridge evaluation and hydraulics, plan preparation and cost estimation, among others.

A big part of the project design was the development of an environmental management system and the relocation or resettlement implementation plan, Galapon said.

The project’s three other phases are: Contract package 1, up for bidding on July 15, involves the rehabilitation of a 16.3-km stretch of road from Buray Junction to Barangay Tenani in Paranas, Samar;

Contract Package 2 traverses the 63.8-km road from Barangay Tenani, Paranas, Samar to the boundaries of San Julian and Sulat towns in Eastern Samar; and

Contract Package 4, a 79.5-km stretch from boundary of Balangkayan and Llorente to Guiuan town in Eastern Samar.