• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Bacolod-Negros Occidental Economic Highway (BANOCEH) that has been extended to Sagay City from Victorias City has been allocated a budget of P55 million, 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III said on Tuesday (March 19).
The amount is exclusively for the construction of the road network while the purchase of the right-of-way has a separate budget, he added
BANOCEH stretches from Barangay Sum-ag in Bacolod City to Victorias City, which has been further extended by the Department of Public Works and Highways to Sagay City in the north.
Marañon said that the alternative road network will not pass through the Northern Negros Natural Park, but will be parallel to the existing national highway.
Sagay City Mayor Narciso Javelosa Jr. said it will save travel time of 15 to 20 minutes for those coming from Victorias City going to Sagay City, if they will use the alternative road network.
Marañon said it will also help in the decongestion of the existing national highway as cargo trucks, especially those loaded with sugarcanes, will no longer pass the main highway.
“Once it is finished, it will boost further the local economy,” the lawmaker said, citing also the road concreting projects from the Cadiz City to its hinterland barangays, where coffee shops and resorts have started to sprout.
It will also make easier the transport of agricultural products from the hinterlands to the poblacion, he added.
Meanwhile, Javelosa said that the expansion of Sagay City port, which is catering to roll-on, roll-off vessels from Tabuelan in Cebu, Estancia in Iloilo and Batangas in southern Luzon, continues.
During the opening of 28th Sinigayan Festival on March 15, Marañon, Javelosa and Vice Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva also led the inauguration and blessing of the P158- million modernized Sagay City gymnasium and the National Bureau of Investigation clearance center. | GB
