P31-M needed for Antamok open pit access road

April 8, 2018 Metro BLISTT

The local government needs at least P31 million for the construction of an access road leading to the 24-hectare area that will be the subject of a deed of usufruct between the management of the Benguet Corporation (BC) and the city for the proposed establishment of its integrated solid waste disposal facility that is geared towards putting an end to the city’s garbage disposal problems
Acting City Engineer Edgar Victorio Olpindo said that plans for the proposed access road are already being finalized before being submitted for approval by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan within the next several weeks.
Earlier, the City General Services Office was able to complete the survey of the 24-hectare BC property which will be the subject of a deed of usufruct and the areas from the five titles where the parcels of land will be taken in preparation for the signing of the agreement that will already allow the local government to introduce the needed development for its eventual conversion into the city’s permanent integrated solid waste disposal facility.
Domogan said that the local government is contemplating on scheduling the signing of the deed of usufruct after the finalization of the detailed survey of the 24-hectare property and the program of work for the access road so that it will form part of the finalized deed of usufruct with the country’s oldest mining company.
“We have to work on this project the soonest possible time because we might be running out of time to find the appropriate solution to our garbage disposal problem that has been the city’s major problem for over a decade now,” Domogan stressed.
He explained that once the deed of usufruct has been signed by both parties, the local government can immediately proceed to screen the available proponents for the various technologies that will effectively and efficiently address the prevailing garbage disposal problem of the city for the benefit of saving the millions of pesos being used simply for the hauling of the city’s residual waste to the sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.
The 24-hectare land area that will be the subject of the deed of usufruct between the local government and BC is part of the company’s Antamok open pit site but there is a need for the city to shoulder the expenses to be incurred in the construction of the required access roads leading to the available property.
He claimed that the P31 million needed for the construction of the access road leading to the 24-hectare area subject of the agreement will be much cheaper compared to the over P200 million needed by the local government for the construction of a similar access road leading to the proposed site of the city’s integrated solid waste facility within the 139-hectare city-owned Mount Sto. Tomas property, thus, it will be easier for local officials to source out the funds for the initial project.
Once the proposed access road will be built in the area including the small sanitary landfill, Domogan claimed that the city will eventually stop the hauling of the city’s residual waste to Urdaneta City that will translate to lesser expenditures in the disposal of garbage considering the proximity of the place to the city. BAGUIO PIO / ABN