(Divina M. Suson / davaotoday.com)
DAVAO DEL NORTE, Philippines — An official of Mindanao Development Authority urged on Thursday, October 26 the country’s construction industry players to be the government’s partner in rebuilding Marawi City.
“It is our hope that our construction leaders in the country and the rest of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) can help us in delivering interventions that are also responsive to the context and aspirations of the Bangsamoro, especially to the short-term and long-term needs of Marawi City,” Mindanao Development Authority Chairman Datu Abul Khayr Alonto said in a statement.
Alonto, in a speech delivered during the recently concluded ASEAN + 6 Construction Forum, recognized the urgency in rebuilding the Islamic City of Marawi in order “to provide necessary infrastructure that will promote and sustain economic activities in the formerly conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.”
The infrastructure projects for Marawi City will be pursued under MinDA’s Mindanao Development Corridors (MinDC), he said.
A Joint Planning and Programming (JPP) will serve as a mechanism with relevant key agencies under the infrastructure sector.
Agencies under JPP are tasked to jointly review, endorse and facilitate inclusion in the national investment program and budget inter-connectivity projects like roads, bridges, ports and airports in Mindanao.
Alonto added that these interventions will be implemented through the Bangsamoro Economic Corridor strategy, an addition to the MinDC program, which is likewise part of the larger BIMP-EAGA corridor.
“The larger MinDC initiative is a strategy that can link us to the China’s multi-billion dollar trade economic Silk Road Project. Coincidentally, China is also an active development partner of BIMP-EAGA for the past few years,” said Alonto.
The ASEAN + 6 Construction Forum gathered delegates from the 10 member-states, as well as other development partners from China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The forum aims to help implement the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, a framework for seamless and comprehensive connectivity and integration among the ASEAN countries.
