Albay to pursue P385-M road projects in 2014 to boost Almasorta
LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 1 (PNA) -- The provincial government of Albay, in partnership with Sorsogon and Masbate, will pursue this year five road projects to boost the Almasor Tourism Development Area.
The road projects, whose feasibility studies have been conducted by Albay, are included in the 2014 General Appropriations Act of the provincial government.
These are the access road to South Luzon International Airport (SLIA), P100 million; Guinobatan–Jovellar-Donsol Road, P100 million; Pio Duran–Donsol Road, P100 million; Camalig-Airport Road (ongoing), P50 million; and Buenavista-Sta. Cruz Bridge, P35 million.
Earlier, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. approved a P1.4-billion tourism support infrastructure package for Albay: the P440-million Cagraray Circumferential Road in Bacacay town, and the P870-million road that directly links Libon, Albay, with Donsol, Sorsogon -- home to the world- famous "butanding" or sperm whale.
Aside from the Cagraray Circumferential Road costing P440 million, Albay also has the Guinobatan-Jovellar-Donsol Road, P901 million, and Guicadale (Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, Legazpi City) roads, P217 million.
In March 2012, the Regional Development Council chaired by Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda formed the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon Tourism Alliance (Almasorta) to further promote tourism in the Bicol Region. Almasorta is an integrated and comprehensive promotion strategy to market the potentials of the three Bicol provinces, eyeing some 650,000 foreign tourist arrivals annually within five years. Salceda spearheaded the organization of the Almasorta and signed an agreement of group cooperation with Masbate Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete and Sorsogon Gov. Raul Lee. “The alliance is a pioneering concept in tourism promotion strategy,” he said. It complements another Bicol regional tourism cluster already in place -- the Catanduanes-Camarines Sur-Camarines Norte Tourism Link (CCTL). The Department of Tourism regional office led by Director Maria “Nini” Ravanilla and the provincial government of Albay early this year introduced Almasorta to Internationale Tourismus-Börse-Berlin, the world’s largest tourism trade fair, where it showcased the wonders of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate provinces.
The Almasor cluster needs the completion of several priority projects for its external market access, including the P3.6-billion SLIA in Barangay Anobo, Daraga, Albay; the modernization of the south railways under the Department of Transportation and Communications with the south central station in Comun, Camalig, Albay, and the extnsion of lines to Legazpi City and to Matnog, Sorsogon; the proposed four-lane Naga-Legazpi freeway system, which will link CCTL with Almasor; the proposed P250-million Mayon International Convention Center; and the P278-million Albay Sports Center, in time for Albay’s hosting of the 2015 Palarong Pambansa. “Without the Almasorta, these would have been more difficult to fund and we would have fallen into the same funding trap of other areas,” Salceda said. He said many infra projects, which were difficult to fund before, became financially feasible under the Almasorta; first, the base is not just one province but all three, so there are economies of scale and critical mass; second, the infra projects are linked to tourism and under the Aquino administration, there is a significant annual budget in the Department of Public Works and Highways which is under the direction of the Department of Tourism. With the creation of Almasorta, the Aquino government infused funds for the development of the Masbate City Road Project, with P400 million budget; the West Ticao Coastal Tourist Highway, with P250 million; and the Sto. Nino-Guinhadap-Monreal Road, P250 million. These funds are for Masbate alone. For Sorsogon province, the Donsol-Gimagaan Road has P200 million; Sta. Cruz-Donsol Road, P150 million; and Donsol-Guinobatan, P901 million. The RDC chair said the alliance was initiated to ensure a stronger and more cohesive tourism campaign among the three provinces, which all have their inherent world-class tourism potentials that need better market positioning and promotion. “For this year, we expect to sustain, if not surpass, the 2013 performance due to aggressive foreign reintroduction of Albay participation in the Berlin ITB, closer collaboration with key tourism stakeholders, like Misibis group and Oriental Hotel, in promotion of Almasor as a package which enhances the structural attractiveness of all three provinces in synergistic positioning and branch franchising,” Salceda said. The provinces of Albay and Camarines Sur are the region's top tourist destinations in the countryside even before the completion of the SLIA wherein the tourist arrivals perked up by 50 percent in Albay and 62 percent in Camarines Sur, contributing essentially to the economic growth and development in the countryside. The big influx of tourist arrivals in Bicol, Salceda said, will greatly help the economy of Bicol as more investments will thrive here.
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