Cebu Daily News / News

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Banilad flyover opens late November By Doris C. Bongcac Cebu Daily News Posted date: October 30, 2008 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be the first person to use the Banilad-Talamban Flyover as she inaugurates the P86.7-million project today. After being given a short project brief by local officials, Arroyo will ceremonially drive through the flyover at around 10 a.m., signaling that the flyover is almost complete and may be usable to the public by next month. A status report prepared by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) indicated that the project was “85 percent complete.” WTG Construction and Development Corp., the project contractor, said only the lamps, median curbs, drain pipes and plastering of the retaining wall remained missing. Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district), who is scheduled to brief the president about the project, said flyover, located on Governor M. Cuenco Avenue at its intersection with A.S. Fortuna Street, would be ready for public use after the inauguration. The flyover, which was started Feb. 27, is expected to be finished by Nov. 26. Earlier, Cebu City officials asked that the flyover be opened to the public before Nov. 1 to accommodate traffic on All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, and All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2. Fr. Nilo Nemero of the Mabolo Parish Church is scheduled to bless the structure before Arroyo’s drive through. After the inauguration, Arroyo is scheduled to proceed to the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in barangay Lahug to speak before Sanguniang Kabataan (SK) members from all over the country. The SK is holding its national congress in Cebu with the aim of providing “a venue for airing SK issues and concerns, to interface with other members of the SK as an organization, to be informed of the existing policies, programs and projects of the government intended for the youth and to officially launch the different programs and projects of the SK National Federation,” according to a media brief from the Philippine Information Agency. SK national president Jane Cajes is expected to give Arroyo a manifesto of support for her administration in behalf of the federation. In the afternoon, Arroyo is scheduled to go to the town of Argao for the inauguration of various projects, such as the groundbreaking for a two-story, eight-classroom building at the Cebu State College of Technology Campus. The building costs P9.1 million, P5 million of which is funded by the President’s Social Fund. The President will also launch the town’s Wi-Max program, which aims to empower 20 of the town’s 45 barangays with Internet connectivity. Arroyo will also attend the book launching of “Argao: 400 Years in Legend and History” and the unveiling of the marker of the President Diosdado Macapagal Cultural and Sports Complex, named after Arroyo's late father. From Argao, the president is expected to return to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport for her return trip to Manila. /With a report by Correspondent July Venus Cuizon