Infrastructure

Infrastructure Program

Under the leadership of Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, Puerto Princesa witnessed a boom in both horizontal and vertical constructions, implemented with the ultimate goal of boosting the economic development of the city, at the least possible cost.

Equipment Pool – Primarily, the city government purchased ten (10) trucks and thirty-seven (37) heavy equipment to complement its equipment pool in order to avoid full dependence on private contractors in the implementation of its projects, including waste disposal.

Asphalt Batching Plants – Likewise, it purchased a batching Asphalt Plant to provide the necessary materials especially for its horizontal projects. The Acquisition of the plant has greatly expedited roads construction and done by administration.

City Framework Planning Program – The project was intended to come up with a Master Plan for the development of Puerto Princesa City in accordance with the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan, with emphasis on sustainable development. It is divided into two parts: the 20-year Framework Plan which defines the long term general direction of the city’s development, and the 5-year Master Plan which contains specific projects and programs that define the city’s immediate development. The following studies/plans have already been finalized: The Tourism Master Plan, Transport Study, Land Use Plan, and the Sustainable Development Plan.

Roads – The city government accomplished the following horizontal projects in different barangays of the city, to wit:

Concreted – 23.752 Kms.
Asphalted – 16.060 Kms.
Opened – 44.306 Kms.
Rehabilitated – 271.006 Kms.

Note: Full dependence on private contractors for asphalting, rehabilitation and construction of new roads would have cost the City Government some P183.803M. But through the City Government’s “Kilos Agad” Construction Task Force, the project amounted to only P106.366M ($4.09M), realizing huge savings for the city taxpayers in the amount of P77.437M ($2.98M).

Bridges – To ensure the continuous flow of traffic in the rural barangays, the city government constructed the following bridges:

• Marufinas Mini-Timber Bridge
• Manturon Bailey Bridge
• Cabayugan Bailey Bridge
• Luzviminda Detour Bridge

Buildings – To strengthen its telecommunication services, the city government constructed a radio room maintenance building. It likewise rehabilitated three dilapidated buildings of the City Public Market. The new City Library Building is currently under construction.

City Public Cemetery – The cemetery has been so constructed that it has now become like a park by itself, not unlike its private counterparts.

Foot Bridges – Twenty were constructed at different barangays.

New Public Market – Finished the construction at a cost of P32M ($1.23M), fifty percent of which is a grant from the USAID.

Puerto Princesa City Coliseum – The city’s convention and conference center. This P200 million events facility can accommodate seven thousand participants and guests.

Sanitary Landfill – The first of its kind in the Philippines, it is another infrastructure project that will promote even more the image of the city as The Environmental Capital of the country.

Modern Solid Waste Collection System – Complementing the Sanitary Landfill and the highly effective street-cleaning program of the city which is the award-winning Oplan Linis Program is a modern solid waste collection system using wheeled waste bins that can be lifted mechanically by modern trucks.

Puerto Princesa City Slaughterhouse – rated “AA,” which means that the meat products processed through it are export-quality, the slaughterhouse is another top-of-the-line project of the Hagedorn Administration.

Newly Rehabilitated/Concreted Roads – Inaugurated on March 4, 2004 are the following road projects, the concreting of which has definitely made travel faster, safer and more comfortable:

• Peneyra Road Phase II
• Pineda Road
• BM Road Phase II
• GMA – Solid Road
• San Manuel Road Phase II

The frenetic pace of development of the city within such a short span of time is difficult to match. Driven by the idea of providing only the best for Puerto Princesa City, Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn and the Sangguniang Panlungsod do not only provide the people with the necessary facilities for comfortable living, but have also served to enhance Puerto Princesa’s image as a modern metropolis, surrounded by lush virgin forests and an ecologically-preserved marine environment – one’s perfect idea of a tropical paradise.