Surigao Norte recipient of Southern Philippines Provincial Road Maintenance Program

The province of Surigao del Norte is one of the ten provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao regions identified to benefit from the road project under the Southern Philippines Provincial Road Maintenance Programor SPPRMP.

According to the Malacanang press report the program has a Provincial Road Maintenance Facility (PRMF) that provides P50 million each year to every beneficiary province for construction and repair of provincial roads over a five-year period.

The beneficiary provinces of the SPPRMP are Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte, in Mindanao; and Bohol and Guimaras in the Visayas.

The projects in the Visayas and Mindanao provinces will be funded with Aus$100 million (P3.5 billion) by the Australian government through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

By improving transport, the welfare of rural folks will significantly improve. It has been noted that provincial roads are the key links of rural communities to the national highway and eventually to the centers of trade and commerce, political administration, and health and educational services, among others, the report disclosed.

Apart from improving the road network, the program also seeks to strengthen each province's institutional capacity and governance system related to the provision and maintenance of provincial roads.

Within five years, the SPPRMP is principally expected to have rehabilitated at least 1,000 kilometers of provincial roads in the 10 provinces; improved access for over four million people to schools and health centers; and reduced transport costs.

Three more beneficiary provinces are still to be identified, the Malacanang press report disclosed.

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