Government pursues completion of two vital roads on tourism and agri -- Benguet guv
Saturday, 24 January 2009 01:11
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Jan. 22 (PNA) - Benguet provincial governor Nestor Fongwan on Thursday assured the government is set to finish in due time two vital roads in the province leading to places where foreign tourists have shown interest to visit.
He said one of these roads is the 31-kilometer Benguet-Ilocos Sur Road which traverse along Bessang Pass which is historic being one of the places of fighting between the Allied Forces and the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
Fongwan disclosed that some P685 million was allotted for the rehabilitation of the road which, in its entirety has six bridges with rivers underneath that serve as the main source of irrigation for the outlying fields of rice, corn, bananas, guavas, mangoes and other products.
In the past 10 months, Fongwan said the Benguet portion of the project is already 18 percent finished while the portion in the province of Ilocos Sur is almost finished.
"The road which is more popularly known as the Abatan-Cervantes Road is serving as the route which connects the northern part of our province to the shorelines of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. It is mostly traveled by merchants who are wholesalers of mostly agricultural products," he said.
On the other hand, the Bokod-Kabayan Road, a secondary national road that leads to Mount Pulag, the highest peak in northern Luzon, was among those given by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the order for their rehabilitation.
Fongwan said the President approved the road's rehabilitation during her recent working Christmas holiday.
