Clark access road and feeder roads

The project will be funded by Economic Support Funds, coordinated by the Ministry of Human Settlements, and implemented by the Ministries of Public Highways and Agriculture. A 10-12 km road will be constructed between Bamban on the Manila North Highway and extending through the resettlement community of San Vicente at Sacobia to San Juan. To this end, an existing 7.5-km gravel road between Bamban and San Vicente will be upgraded and paved with portland cement concrete. The remaining 2.5-4.5 km to San Juan will entail new construction, part of which will be across the Malago River. This segment of the road will be paved with asphaltic concrete. Tree planting and other erosion control measures will be undertaken along the road. Selected feeder roads will also be constructed. These will be largely all-weather roads, although they may be paved if warranted by estimates of usage. Four possible routes are being considered, each providing access to important or potentially important economic activities in the region - a Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) facility, a planned dendro-thermal plantation and power plant, a planned integrated agricultural resource center, and a proposed Sacobia industrial estate. Several remedial soil and water conservation measures, including concrete ditching and vegetative barriers, will be undertaken to arrest the current rate of soil depletion and protect the integrity of soil/water resources. These activities will be initiated on a roughly 200-ha area to be served by the access road. They will be labor-intensive and will initially create gainful employment for more than 400 persons. If the measures are successful, they will be employed in other denuded, non-irrigated areas below the 60% gradient.