There are already three investors interested in the Negros Occidental Bulk Water Supply Project, which bidding is set in July, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Wednesday, January 4.
The bulk water project that will be undertaken through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) will include Bacolod City, he said.
Private investors will not invest if Bacolod is not included because they want to ensure that they make a profit, the governor said.
Lacson, who outlined his targets for 2023, said the provincial government will also push forward the development of the bamboo industry for its Safe Water Project.
Several local government units have shown serious intent to be the bamboo capital of the province, he said.
For 2023 knowing that the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise sector in the country is the engine of economic growth, job creation, and poverty eradication, assistance to them will be strengthened through the SSF or shared service facilities, Lacson also said.
“We are going to start the Showroom for the products coming from our shared facility. Our farmers will provide the raw materials which will be paid by the province. Such raw materials will be processed in our processing plant, and the province will market the products and find the buyers, to help our farmers and to establish the brand name, Abanse Negrense Products,” he added.
The Capitol will also pursue Organic Trading Posts and continue its subsidy to rice farmers and post-harvest support through mechanization, the governor said.
The provincial government will be hiring Job Order Employees to assist farmers in all phases of the planting cycle in support of President Ferdinand Marcos’ rice sufficiency program, he added.
The Food Terminal Market, the FTMON, at the North Capitol Road in Bacolod City with its food court and meeting rooms, will bring in more local revenues, he also said.
The offices of Department of Trade and Industry and Technology and Livelihood Development Center will also be in the area of the FTMON, he added.
To repurpose and maximize the assets of the province, the old Land Transportation Office and the Boy Scouts Building at Cottage Road in Bacolod City will also be converted to a multi-purpose structure, another Cyber Center, and a halfway house for the watchers of the Negrense patients in Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Lacson also said.
The Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) Global Campus will also be completed this year, and this will pave the way for more quality instruction and vocational trainings to further equip and prepare the Negrense workforce, he said.
“To strengthen our International Linkages and Partnerships, we will be sending our NOLITC trainors to Australia, so that we can produce an Australian accredited workforce,” he added.
The provincial government will also pursue it Barangay Based Nutrition Program to comprehensively address undernutrition, malnutrition, overnutrition, and stunting in the province, Lacson also said.
The One Stop Shop of the Provincial Environment Management Office will also be operational early this year to facilitate the efficient processing of quarry permits, he said.
“This streamlined process will translate to lower prices of construction aggregates as we prepare for the construction and infrastructure boom of the province,” he added.*