Two key infrastructure projects recently initiated in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi are expected to improve the province’ transport links and boost the economy.

Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali, said the improvement project of Sanga-Sanga airport in Bongao that started last Tuesday will extend the runway from its current length of 1,611 meters to 1,930 meters, and widen it to a strand of 30 meters.

Sahali said the expansion will allow the landing of larger aircraft such as A320s and B737s used by major domestic carriers.

“This is vital infrastructure for peace and development,” Sahali described the project.

The runway project is a joint effort of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the provincial government and United States Agency for International Development’s (USAIDs) Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.

Another partnership project, involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the provincial government, and the GEM Program, also had its groundbreaking this week.

“Through this project the dream of the people of Tawi-Tawi to connect its two largest islands will be realized,” DPWH-ARMM Director for Planning and Programming Danilo Ong said.

The Tawi-Tawi bridge-road project will directly link Sanga-Sanga Island where the airport is located, according to Ong.

The project includes the construction by DPWH and DPWH-ARMM of three steel bridges measuring 155 meters, 102 meters and 40 meters long, respectively, and a 600-meter road linking two of the bridges on the islet of Bakhaw Dakula.

The 8.4-kilometer road connecting the bridges to the Tawi-Tawi island highway network will be upgraded by DPWH-ARMM while the 9.3-km earthen road connecting the Sanga-Sanga side will be upgraded by the GEM Program, which is implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo).

Once completed, the bridge-road project will facilitate the flow of people, goods and services throughout the province helping to stimulate the local economy and provide better access to schools and health and social services available only in Bongao.

The project will serve as the land transport link between the municipalities of Panglima Sugala, Sapa-Sapa and Languyan.

At present, passengers and cargo commuting across municipalities must travel by motorboat in open water.

Tawi-Tawi’s economic development lagged for decades due to its far-flung location in relation to the country’s centers of trade and commerce, and to the intermittent armed conflict that has affected some areas of Mindanao.

“This is an historic moment for all of us, as Tawi-Tawi opens up to the rest of the world,” said Undersecretary Nabil Tan of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

“The bridging of peace will surely follow as the economy grows,” Tan added.

Through the GEM Program, USAID has helped to improve the island-province’s transport connections and enhance its capacity for economic growth through 41 barangay infrastructure projects and six larger infrastructure projects completed earlier.

The GEM Program has worked with the Tawi-Tawi chamber of commerce to improve local business activity and provided 18 schools with computers and internet access.

It has also partnered with the parent-teacher community organizations of 54 schools in the province to expand their libraries, science labs and other resources through an educational matching grant component.

Get Philippine Travel News on your inbox - Join Lakbay Pilipinas Mailing List