Big projects set in Baguio; traffic lights with artificial intelligence included in plan

P80 billion targeted budget 

BAGUIO CITY – The city government is preparing for the simultaneous implementation of its programmed big-ticket development projects funded by the national government to realize the present administration’s 15-point collective agenda for a better Baguio after three years.

Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong ordered the creation of champion teams for each of the priority development projects to ensure the implementation of the high-impact development projects to improve the current state of the city.

 He said that the secretaries of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be in the city next week, thus, concerned offices should be ready to present to them the priority projects of the city government, especially the development of Burnham Park, the put up of the youth convergence center, the construction of pay parking buildings, the interventions on improving the quality of waste water, water quality management, solid waste management among others.

The city chief executive added that the city government should also prepare for the upcoming conduct of the quarterly board meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the city on March 5-6, 2020 with the city is trying to avail of a P20 billion soft loan and grant for the improvement of the city’s waste water management and the provision of adequate potable water for the increasing population.

According to him, the concerned offices of the city government must be ready to present to the visiting national officials the detailed plans of the present administration’s priority development projects for the higher authorities to be aware of what the city is doing to achieve its primary objective of making a better Baguio after three years.

The city mayor stated there is a need for concerned offices to align the implementation of the conversion of the city’s streetlights from the present high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs to Light Emitting Diode (LED) fixtures with the planned Smart City project.

He said even the city’s traffic lights must also be artificial intelligence-ready in time for the implementation of the project to ensure the same will be synchronized to help save on expenses of the city government for the said interventions.

Earlier, the city government accessed some P200 million from the Office of the President for the put up of the city’s state-of-the-art command center, P400 million from the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), P430 million from the budget department for the improvement of the waste water system, among other priority projects that are in the pipeline for funding from other concerned government agencies.

On the other hand, the locally-funded projects include the P40 million construction of the city hall annex, the put up of a number of pay parking buildings in strategic areas in the city, the establishment of the multi-million youth convergence center, the conversion of the streetlights from HPS to LED fixtures, the replacement of the control systems of the traffic lights around the central business district and other areas in the city among other high impact development projects that will be provided adequate funding from whatever available sources. -- Dexter A. See