The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has constructed new facilities to support the operations of the Philippine Navy (PN) in the coastal town and surrounding areas of Casiguran, Aurora.
DPWH Secretary Roger G. Mercado said that the DPWH Aurora District Engineering Office (DEO) implemented the ₱36.63-Million construction of the naval detachment complex made possible through partnership with the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) and funding from the Office of Senator Francis N. Tolentino, who serves as the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense.
Based on reports from DPWH District Engineer Roderick A. Andal, the Naval Installations and Facilities-Northern Luzon (NIF-NL) in Casiguran, Aurora includes a typhoon resilient main building with complete amenities, a radio room, and armory, all situated in a 5,362.50-square-meter space.
Also part of the new facilities are eight (8) units of 20-footer and two (2) units of 40-footer container vans converted into navy personnel barracks with four (4) units of toilets and four (4) units of shower stalls, four (4) units of guard houses, a sewage treatment plant, and perimeter fence.
The barracks are also equipped with a 100-KVA generator, a reliable water source, and solar panels with batteries as alternative source of energy.
Formally turned-over to Philippine Navy officials and its management in March 2022, the facilities now aid the country’s naval forces in their duty to secure the country's maritime control over the Philippine Sea where the 13-million-hectare undersea region of Philippine Rise is located.
“The completion of these naval facilities is a testament of how the DPWH is steadfast in supporting the further strengthening of our national security by providing quality infrastructure for the utilization of our uniformed brothers and sisters,” Secretary Mercado said.