With infrastructure as one of the top priorities in the 10-point Socioeconomic Agenda of President Rodrigo R. Duterte the Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Development Investment Program slated 296 projects in 2018 from 200 projects in 2017, and is expected to balloon to 631 in 2019 for a total of 2,030 projects from 2017-2022 with an allocation of Php142,435,226.90B.
For CY 2018, DPWH Region IX is allotted Php 21.9B for the construction of 661 projects based on House General Appropriations Bill (HGAB). For FY 2018 DPWH Infrastructure Program, Zamboanga del Norte 1st DEO is allotted Php2.1B for 67 projects, Zamboanga del Norte 2nd – Php 2.4B for 55 projects, Zamboanga del Norte 3rd – Php 2.3B with 74 projects, Zamboanga del Sur 1st – Php 2.5B with 127 projects, Zamboanga del Sur 2nd – Php 2.9B with 54 projects, Zamboanga Sibugay 1st – Php 1.6B with 69 projects, Zamboanga Sibugay 2nd – Php 1.9B with 72 projects, Zamboanga City – Php 4.9B with 113 projects, Isabela City - Php 488.3M with 27 projects and Regional Office IX – Php 456M with 3 projects.
There are 84 Flood Control projects with an allocation of Php 3.6B. Flood Mitigation Facilities include among others the Construction of Flood Control Structure along Disacan River (Upstream & Downstream) including Dredging, Manukan and Jose Dalman, Zamboanga del Norte; Construction of Revetment with Concrete Sheet Piles along Mapangi River, Zamboanga del Sur; and the Construction of Flood Control for Urban Core and Central District of Zamboanga City to include Pumping Station and RROW, Zamboanga City.
The successful collaboration of the DPWH and the DOT (Department of Tourism) through its convergence program called Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) led to the implementation of another project called Roads Leveraging Linkages for Industry and Trade (ROLL IT). The Department’s coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) resulted in the creation of industry-developing infrastructure projects in priority economic and manufacturing zones. Improvement of access roads leading to industries include among others the Construction of Jct. Lanao-Pagadian-Zamboanga City Road in Brgy. La Dicha Road in support of Rubber Processing, Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay; Creation of the Access Road at Sitio Anuling, Pamucutan to Sta. Rita in support of High Value Crops (Abaca, Cacao, Rubber and Coffee), Upper La Paz, Zamboanga City; and Improvement of Brgy. San Jose Road leading to San Jose Multi-Purpose Cooperative, in support of Agribusiness: Rice and Rubber, Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte. With the alignment of government infrastructure projects to the requirement of local industries, this will surely spur the productive capacity of the economy not only in the region but the entire country as well.