New route linking Marawi to Region 10 soon to open
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 02:06 AM Fri Aug 17, 2018
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By:
John Unson
The construction of the new Marawi-Cagayan de Oro Highway is expected to be completed by 2019.
LANAO DEL SUR --- There is a road being built now that would cut to less than two hours the time of travel from Marawi City to the capital of Region 10.The highway that will connect the cities of Marawi and Cagayan de Oro will traverse the adjoining Kapai and Tagoloan towns in Lanao del Sur and Talakag, Bukidnon.Cagayan de Oro City, the administrative capital of Region 10, was once reachable only to Marawi residents via Iligan City through a four-hour overland travel if traffic flow is light.Construction works are now going on in the 37-kilometer stretch of the Kapai-Talakag portion of the highway.Documents obtained Thursday from state auditors monitoring the implementation of the project stated that engineers have built 7.5 kilometers of the road in recent months and that the opening of 5.3 kilometers more on forested hinterlands are still underway.The provincial government of Lanao del Sur had earlier constructed a highway connecting the cities of Marawi and Cagayan, passing through Wao municipality.The hinterland Wao town in Lanao del Sur is located near Bukidnon province, which is under Region 10.The construction of the new Marawi-Cagayan de Oro route is handled by the office of Lanao del Sur Gov. Soraya Alonto-Adiong using funds from theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.Provincial officials are confident the completion of the new road network will help hasten the recovery of Marawi City from the devastation wrought by last year’s conflict there that the Maute terror cell instigated.Marawi City is the capital of Lanao del Sur, a component province of ARMM that also covers Maguindanao in central Mindanao and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.In a statement Thursday, Alonto-Adiong said she is grateful to the office of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman for providing funds for the project through the region’s public works department.She said credit also has to go to President Rodrigo Duterte for supporting the infrastructure thrusts of the provincial government of Lanao del Sur.