GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 14 June) — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is targeting to start by next month the development of its planned world-class skills training center in Barangay Kawas, Alabel, Sarangani province.
Rafael Abrogar II, TESDA-12 regional director, said an initial P45 million has been approved for the project.
He said the funds will be coursed through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which will implement the project.
They expect the initial preparations to start in the next few weeks based on information relayed by the DPWH Sarangani district office, he said.
“The actual construction work was projected to start from July or August,” he said in an interview.
He said it is due for completion in seven to eight months or by the first quarter of 2020.
Abrogar said the funding for the construction of the regional training center was facilitated by Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao, with support from the provincial government of Sarangani.
He said the municipal government of Alabel donated the five-hectare site in Barangay Kawas.
The official earlier said the training center will cost around P150 million when fully completed.
He said it will be a modern and world-class training center, with complete facilities and equipment for a range of skills.
The facility will have an administration building, assessment area, training hall and dormitory.
A project briefer said the regional training center was designed to support the continuing expansions in the construction sector in Sarangani and neighboring areas.
It will address the demand for skilled workers of projects under President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
TESDA is pushing for the construction of another regional training center worth P100 million in South Cotabato province. (MindaNews)