The Belgian government is giving this year about P29.3 million for infrastructure projects under its Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Program 3 in Oriental Negros.

Romeo Binasahan, lead coordinator of BIARSP 3 in the province, said the fund, which is coursed through the national government is allocated to construction of farm to market roads, water supply and sanitation facilities, communal irrigation, elementary school buildings and primary health stations.

The amount, Binasahan added, does not include the funding for the trainings of personnel from implementing line agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Public Work and Highways and National Irrigation Administration.

The projects, he said, are intended to agrarian reform communities in the towns of Sta. Catalina, Jimalalud, La Libertad, and Guihulngan, and the cities of Bayawan and Canlaon, all in Oriental Negros.

Binasahan said the local government units concerned are expected to give more than P11 million as counterpart, or about 40 percent of the amount extended as a grant by the BIARSP for the projects.

He said that if the intended recipient locality cannot put up the counterpart, the project will not be implemented. In fact, he said, some towns had been disqualified from availing of the projects from BIARSP because of their failure to allocate counterpart funding.

Binasahan said BIARSP has been implemented in the province since 1994.

The BIARSP 3, he said, has a total funding of P44 million for Oriental Negros alone with a lifetime of four years from 2003.

BIARSP is also implemented in other provinces of the country.*RA

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