CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The provincial government of Pampanga allotted a total of P421,885,663.80 for various development projects in the province.
Provincial Engr. Armando Austria disclosed this during his guesting at ‘Pampanga Kaluguran Da Ka’ aired over at RW95.1fm recently.
Austria said the amount is equivalent to the 20 percent development fund of the province which was approved by the Provincial Development Council (PDC) last year.
About 80 percent of the total funds or P340,000,000 will go to infrastructure projects. This includes the construction of roads connecting the four districts of the province, elevated path walks for wetland ecotourism, bypass roads for business districts, road canalization, day care centers, multipurpose buildings, covered court areas, and school buildings.
According to the provincial engineer, aside from the health sector, the governor also wants to prioritize the construction of barangay halls, day care centers and provincial roads.
Austria added that Gov. Pineda believes that the repair and construction of roads connecting the four districts will boost the tourism activity in the province.
Aside from various infrastructure projects, some P20,000,000 was also allotted for the construction and rehabilitation of artesian wells and water system.
Another P20,000,000 was also allocated for agricultural modernization which includes farm to market roads, irrigation facilities, desilting equipment for irrigation canals, thresher and mechanical dryer and hand tractors with trailer and other post-harvest facilities. Also included in the budget is the P6,885,663.80 for the livelihood assistance of farmers.
The purchase and development of land for land banking and the relocation of informal settlers and victims of calamities worth P20,000,000 was also included in the budget.
The provincial government also allotted some P10,000,000 for environmental management and climate change adaptation programs like reforestation and urban greening, construction and rehabilitation of material recovery facility (MRF), and purchase of garbage trucks and related equipment.
Also in the list of projects is the P5,000,000 fund for the provision of construction materials for the repair and construction of government facilities such as pathways, streetlights, stage and other barangay projects.
Engr. Austria said the funds for the repair of barangay projects can be acquired by submitting a barangay resolution to the governor for the inspection and approval of the project. –LIEZEL CAYANAN