The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is considering securing funding and technical support from the World Bank for its proposed Infrastructure Development Plan for the Greater Sulu Metropolitan Area.

Emil Sadain, DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations, said the World Bank has expressed interest in providing financial support for infrastructure projects proposed by DPWH in Sulu aimed at rekindle the status of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Province in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as a major economic and commercial center not only for Mindanao but also for the Philippines.

Sadain and Dr. Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei, recently discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation on planned development projects, especially roads and bridges. ; water supply system; sanitation development; and urban renewal in coastal communities.

The World Bank Executive reaffirmed the Bank’s support for the initiatives of the DPWH that will meet Sulu’s needs for clean water and adequate sanitation, the possibility of improving transport facilities that will also benefit the delivery of agricultural products. , the development and promotion of various heritage and tourism potentials, the building of communities and the eventual decline of armed conflict due to available and improved economic opportunities.

In accordance with Article 37 of Article 13 of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the DPWH is committed to fostering development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, especially in the construction and maintenance of national roads and bridges , water supply services and flood control and irrigation system.

“By providing several infrastructure projects, community development and social services, the aspirations of the people of Sulu who have suffered from decades of conflict and underdevelopment will be addressed with positive changes in terms of jobs and opportunities. to escape poverty,” says Sadain.

The proposed DPWH – World Bank partnership for Sulu has the following scope of activities:
preparation of detailed engineering design, conduct of civil works, for the 161 km Sulu and 77 km Transcentral circular roads, and the additional 42 km loop roads; supervision of the construction of the urban renewal program in coastal communities; Sulu Inland Water Supply Project and Construction of Jolo Sanitation Development Scheme. – Myla Iglesias