Consultant, contractor clarify issues on Halsema 05-08-21

	NORDIS WEEKLY August 21, 2005
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Consultant, contractor clarify issues on Halsema
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Aug. 16) — The French consultant of the main road project connecting the Cordillera interior to the rest of the country appealed to the people of the region and clarified issues on the yet another extension of the road project during the weekly Kapihan sa Benguet here. The Halsema highway like any other mountain road can not be finished in one project, said Claude Allouche of the BCOM Societe Francaise d’Inginierie. Allouche seemed to have given up on meeting the revised completion date set on March 31, 2006 for the World Bank-funded road project. Allouche revealed that there are some sections of the highway that the contractor could not touch, adding that some of the works might not be finished even after the new target completion date by end of March next year. The adjusted target completion date has been moved to September 16 from the original deadline set this year but the Korean contractor Daewoo E & C Ltd. asked for an extension. “Please allow us to finish the project,” In Kyu Kang, Daewoo’s spokesperson said. He added that his group wanted to finish the project at once but many problems hindered project implementation. Allouche confirmed Kang’s claims and said that it was impossible for the contractor to finish the project by September 16 due to several barring factors such as administrative procedures that delayed its implementation, among others. The project, the La Trinidad-Mt. Data Section, which had an original contract price of P718.7 million is now placed at P1.04 billion, or a variation in costs of P319.7 million. It is the first package in the rehabilitation of the Baguio-Bontoc-Banaue Road Project partly financed by the National Road Improvement and Management Program of the World Bank. It may be recalled that last year, Allouche and Daewoo’s Kang announced several times that the project would be completed in May this year. According to National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR) Regional Director Juan Ngalob it took the Regional Development Council 11 years to lobby for the funding of the Halsema Highway. He recalled that the planning stage for the Cordillera Road Improvement Program started in 1989, and the revised version was shelved in 1990 up to 1992 when the Naguilian and Marcos Highway were finally approved. Engineering studies for the La Trinidad-Mt. Data section of the Halsema project started in 1996, but construction started only in July 2001. “It took another 5 years to build the road, but by March 31, 2006 there might be some minor works for Package I. Package II, the Mt. Data-Bontoc section is expected to start by then,” Engr. Ariel Angeles said during the same forum. Topography and natural instability aggravated by the earthquake in 1990 and several typhoons left several badly damaged portions that had to be repaired and thus, caused the delay, Allouche said. He also noted that settlement with lot owners on the road right of way took some time to complete. Allouche also blamed the vegetable terraces along the highway for landslides and erosions because he said, these either block the drainage or alter natural waterways. He recommends that irrigation water from the vegetable gardens be redirected and that there be no vegetable gardens along natural waterways because these can block the natural drainage. He also asked local officials to advise people on the nature of the problems wrought by these gardens along the highway. Benguet Gov. Borromeo Melchor thinks a weighbridge each at Atok and Buguias towns may address the overloading issue that is partly blamed on the damages to the concrete pavement. Travel time from Baguio to Mankayan, the task force Halsema claims, is now reduced by two hours with the 83.3% completed project. Its economic life is expected at 25 years. There are other roads in the CRIP that are aimed at connecting the towns and provinces of the Cordillera to major urban centers and capital towns within the region and Northern Luzon’s other regions. The CRIP has been criticized then as a project that would facilitate the entry of foreign-funded projects and programs in the Cordillera. It is a part of the equally criticized Medium Term Development Plan (MTPDP) of then President Fidel V. Ramos. # Lyn V. Ramo for NORDIS
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	NORDIS WEEKLY August 21, 2005
Home \| To bottom	Previous \| Next
Consultant, contractor clarify issues on Halsema
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Aug. 16) — The French consultant of the main road project connecting the Cordillera interior to the rest of the country appealed to the people of the region and clarified issues on the yet another extension of the road project during the weekly Kapihan sa Benguet here. The Halsema highway like any other mountain road can not be finished in one project, said Claude Allouche of the BCOM Societe Francaise d’Inginierie. Allouche seemed to have given up on meeting the revised completion date set on March 31, 2006 for the World Bank-funded road project. Allouche revealed that there are some sections of the highway that the contractor could not touch, adding that some of the works might not be finished even after the new target completion date by end of March next year. The adjusted target completion date has been moved to September 16 from the original deadline set this year but the Korean contractor Daewoo E & C Ltd. asked for an extension. “Please allow us to finish the project,” In Kyu Kang, Daewoo’s spokesperson said. He added that his group wanted to finish the project at once but many problems hindered project implementation. Allouche confirmed Kang’s claims and said that it was impossible for the contractor to finish the project by September 16 due to several barring factors such as administrative procedures that delayed its implementation, among others. The project, the La Trinidad-Mt. Data Section, which had an original contract price of P718.7 million is now placed at P1.04 billion, or a variation in costs of P319.7 million. It is the first package in the rehabilitation of the Baguio-Bontoc-Banaue Road Project partly financed by the National Road Improvement and Management Program of the World Bank. It may be recalled that last year, Allouche and Daewoo’s Kang announced several times that the project would be completed in May this year. According to National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-CAR) Regional Director Juan Ngalob it took the Regional Development Council 11 years to lobby for the funding of the Halsema Highway. He recalled that the planning stage for the Cordillera Road Improvement Program started in 1989, and the revised version was shelved in 1990 up to 1992 when the Naguilian and Marcos Highway were finally approved. Engineering studies for the La Trinidad-Mt. Data section of the Halsema project started in 1996, but construction started only in July 2001. “It took another 5 years to build the road, but by March 31, 2006 there might be some minor works for Package I. Package II, the Mt. Data-Bontoc section is expected to start by then,” Engr. Ariel Angeles said during the same forum. Topography and natural instability aggravated by the earthquake in 1990 and several typhoons left several badly damaged portions that had to be repaired and thus, caused the delay, Allouche said. He also noted that settlement with lot owners on the road right of way took some time to complete. Allouche also blamed the vegetable terraces along the highway for landslides and erosions because he said, these either block the drainage or alter natural waterways. He recommends that irrigation water from the vegetable gardens be redirected and that there be no vegetable gardens along natural waterways because these can block the natural drainage. He also asked local officials to advise people on the nature of the problems wrought by these gardens along the highway. Benguet Gov. Borromeo Melchor thinks a weighbridge each at Atok and Buguias towns may address the overloading issue that is partly blamed on the damages to the concrete pavement. Travel time from Baguio to Mankayan, the task force Halsema claims, is now reduced by two hours with the 83.3% completed project. Its economic life is expected at 25 years. There are other roads in the CRIP that are aimed at connecting the towns and provinces of the Cordillera to major urban centers and capital towns within the region and Northern Luzon’s other regions. The CRIP has been criticized then as a project that would facilitate the entry of foreign-funded projects and programs in the Cordillera. It is a part of the equally criticized Medium Term Development Plan (MTPDP) of then President Fidel V. Ramos. # Lyn V. Ramo for NORDIS
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