P170M road project to boost Bataan town agriculture and tourism

BAGAC, Bataan – The World-Bank has approved the granting of a Php 170 million loan for the concreting of Barangay San Antinio-Saysain by-pass road next year.

Bagac municipal administrator Nick Ancheta said the World Bank-funded 16 kilometer road project which will be implemented under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) definitely would boost agricultural production and facilitate the development of the town’s coastal areas facing picturesque West Philippine Sea as a foremost health and leisure hub for foreign and local tourists in Central Luzon.

Ancheta stressed that Mayor Rommel del Rosario expresses his utmost optimism that the construction of a by-pass road will finally put an end to the low utilization rate of opportunities for upland farmers due to minimal improvement of farm to market road in the locality.

He pointed out that the concreting project will provide better accessibility to large tracts of still undeveloped lands and hasten the continuous tourist arrivals to world-class beach resorts and nature parks of the coastal town of Bagac.

The road improvement is a key to agricultural productivity with hundreds of upland farmers expected to benefit from the project by adopting latest multi-cropping farming method of root crops, vegetable, high-yielding fruits and palay.

Ancheta, a former town councilor of Bagac, said the project propels the eco-tourism thrust of the municipal government with the amazing improvement in the latest recorded tourist arrivals of 400,000. “We are readying a comprehensive tourism development plan to encourage investors with the opening of the by-pass road as one of the focal points in expanding the local tourism industry with its forthcoming connection to the 40-kilometer  Bagac-Mariveles coastline“ Ancheta added.

Likewise, Ancheta said sustainable agricultural productivity is vital in the success of effective tourism promotional campaign as the new road project stimulates the socio-economic growth in the upland communities.