President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, laid down two significant projects that would bring in investors to Guimaras. ‘Power and access through infrastructure usually are the basic considerations of investors if they would like to invest in an area. Since Guimaras is included, it will improve the prospects of attraction of investments in Guimaras, especially in promoting its agri-tourism and agri-fishery productivity improvement,’ said Provincial Economic Development (PED) Officer Francis Gentoral. The Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island bridges project is among the 12 bridges under the Mega-Bridge Program that will link the island and areas that are separated by water, as mentioned by the President. The project has a length of 32.47 km. with two sections, including the 13-km. Panay-Guimaras section and the Guimaras-Negros section with a length of 19.47 km. He added that as far as he knew, there was already a budget for the project’s detailed engineering. Meanwhile, President Marcos has instructed the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to complete its deliverables, including the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid interconnection. The completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid interconnection is very important because it will lead to a stabilized cost of power, Gentoral said. ‘When the grid is improved, it will also improve power delivery,’ he added. He said with the commitment from the Chief Executive, the next stage is how to execute the program. On the other hand, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas thanked the President for mentioning two very important projects that would create a big impact on the lives of the people in Western Visayas in general, and the residents of Iloilo City in particular. ‘The Panay-Negros-Guimaras Bridge has long been a dream for us. With this coming to fruition, ease of transportation, dynamic movement of goods and services, and much enhanced economic and tourism activities are assured,’ he said. The Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnection in the NGCP grid is also a welcome development because it will bring ‘stable energy source, transmission, and distribution.’ ‘Iloilo City, being the regional hub of Western Visayas, stands to benefit from these high-impact projects. We are looking forward to their realization, as we also hope for the implementation of other projects of the national government namely, the Iloilo Airport expansion, the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project, and improvement of our international port,’ he added.
Source: Philippines News Agency