TACLOBAN CITY- Construction works for the proposed new government center in Palo town is to start next month. This was disclosed by Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that the construction project is estimated to cost P4.5 billion. The proposed new government center will be located in Barangay Guindapunan wherein a private firm, Alloy MTD Philippines, will construct. According to the governor, the site will cover 10 hectares wherein several national, regional and provincial offices are to be housed. At present, the government center is located in Barangay Candahug, also in Palo. Almost all of the buildings in the said area sustained major damages due to storm surges generated by supertyphoon Yolanda close to a year now.
He added that the present provincial capitol building located in Tacloban will be transferred to this new location of government center. The present capitol building will be then converted into a museum, the governor said. Petilla added that the new government center will serve at the same time an evacuation center. The whole center with a floor area of 70,000 square meters could accommodate up to 40,000 people and will be protected against storm surges or tsunamis of up to 35 feet, he added. “The (proposed) government center with an area of 10,000 square meters, is protected from external elements including storm surges, strong rains and super typhoons will be made available to serve as an emergency shelter for up to 40,000 people or as evacuation site for up to 3,000 families,” Petilla said. In a separate interview with Engr. Isaac David, president of the Alloy MTD Philippines Inc., the firm that will construct the project, said that his company will start the construction of the government center in the middle of next month.
David informed told reporters that they will spend around P4.5 billion on the project. He added that the project is “designed to withstand an earthquake up to 9.0 magnitude and a super typhoon with wind velocity up to 320 kilometer per hour strong winds.” David attended the industry summit held in Tacloban and sponsored by the provincial government last month. (RESTITUTO CAYUBIT)
