PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The province of Palawan will soon turn its 600-kilometer north-to-south arterial road into a six-lane superhighway to boost its tourism potential.
Provincial information officer Gil Acosta Jr. said the move is in support of the sub-regional economic cooperation initiative Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Vision 2025 on facilitating free movement of people, goods, and services.
The ambitious plan of developing the province’s national road, which costs P30 billion, has been approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, and will be coursed through the Department of Public Works and Highways, Acosta said.
An initial P3 billion has been downloaded to the DPWH for the six-lane superhighway project, and bidding started late last year, he added.
“The pilot project will be in the second Palawan District, from Narra to Bataraza in the southern side,” Acosta said.
Palawan Gov. Jose Alvarez’s “firm effort to implement all the infrastructure goals” under IHELP [infrastructure, health, education, livelihood, and protection of the environment] helped clinch the President’s approval, he added.
Negotiations have now shifted to the DPWH and other concerned national government agencies to craft the details of the project and finalize its implementation.
For decades, the existing two-lane National Highway in Palawan that stretches from El Nido in the north to Bataraza in the south provided accessibility to the municipalities in the mainland.
The narrow road is an “unwelcome sight for visiting tourists,” who troop to the island to enjoy its premier destinations. Thus, the provincial government responded to the call “with urgency and strong resolve,” said Acosta.
“The robust growth of the local economy, attributed primarily to the thriving tourism industry, made it imperative for the provincial leadership to seek remedy to address the need for wider roads for ease of travel,” he said.
“Taking into account the citation earned by Palawan as the ‘World’s Best Island’ destination, Governor Alvarez is quick to capitalize on it as the bargaining chip in lobbying for funds to finance the big-ticket infrastructure project,” Acosta said.
The expansion of the arterial road would make it convenient for motorists to haul agricultural and fishery products of rural communities dotting the countryside, the info officer added.
The superhighway project should be completed within three years, and is expected to accelerate the development and inclusive growth of Palawan in the coming years.
“This six-lane superhighway is also for the BIMP-EAGA economic cooperation initiative since the objective is to connect Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia to Buliluyan in Bataraza to San Fernando, El Nido to Coron,” Acosta said.
Under the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025, the other target linkages of the transport sector include the Bitung-Tahuna-Gensan, Brooke’s Point-Sandakan-Kota Kinabalo, Brooke’s Point-Bataraza-Kudat and Brooke’s Point-Brunei.