By
Marlo T. Lubguban
BAGUIO CITY – The
National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera has set funding for
“Formulation of the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT)
Infrastructure Master Plan.”
Through its
Project Development and Other Related Studies (PDRS) fund, NEDA called for the
project in recognition of the increasing urbanization of the BLISTT as one of
the identified primary growth centers of the region.
According to
NEDA, the master plan will serve as guide for decision-makers in identifying
infrastructure projects to promote the BLISTT area’s economic competitiveness,
disaster preparedness, and improvement of peoples’ quality of life.
Consultants selected
for the year-long project met with NEDA-CAR to discuss their work plan last
Feb. 28.
The project
is expected to be finished in February 2020.
The
formulation of a comprehensive infrastructure master plan stems from need to
provide adequate infrastructure services to the people of BLISTT in response to
increasing urban congestion and the risks posed by climate change to
disaster-mitigation and food-security, NEDA said.
The project
is a direct follow through to the “Baguio City urban carrying capacity study
which is due to be completed in September.
Covered in
the master plan are identification of key development issues in the BLISTT
area, its physical, demographic and economic attributes, and gaps in
infrastructure development.
Also included
in the project is formulation of an overall framework for policy-makers, an
action plan for financing and implementation, a list of priority projects and
programs that are specific to BLISTT, and a communication plan for
coordination.
The
consultancy team aims to utilize the data from various sources such as the
Regional Development Plan 2017-2022, the on-going NEDA-funded study on the
Urban Carrying Capacity of Baguio City, and the Comprehensive Land Use plans of
component cities and municipalities of Baguio City-La
Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) Growth Center, among others.
They will be
based in Baguio and also plans to conduct site visits to various areas in the
BLISTT area.
One of the
consultants, Alex Brillantes, agreed with NEDA-CAR that the BLISTT is not a
metro arrangement focused on Baguio but an “inter-local cooperation” that sees
each LGU as equal as opposed to other urban setups such as Metro Davao or Metro
Cebu where a single LGU dominates economic activity. BLISTT is the most robust
economic growth center in the region. It is one of the two primary growth nodes
in the Cordillera region along with the TRiPT (Tabuk, Rizal, Pinukpuk, Tanudan)
in Eastern Kalinga.
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