MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 8 Oct) – A total of 500 families from the most affected area here will receive permanent shelter units from the United Nations Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
Groundbreaking for the P500-million project funded by the Japanese government took place Monday.
Bernhard Barth, UN-Habitat’s human settlements officer of its regional office for Asia and the Pacific, said the housing project is their “contribution to achieving durable solutions for Marawi’s displaced population.”
He expressed thanks to the National Housing Authority (NHA) for providing the land for the project. “We are grateful to NHA for granting this patch of land, where in a few months we will see a new community breathe with life,” Barth said.
Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM), meantime, is helping out in identifying the beneficiaries.
Roderick Ibañez, head of the NHA’s Marawi Project Management Office, said the NHA acquired and developed 39 hectares of land in the city. Ten hectares is intended for the UN-Habitat’s permanent housing development.
The NHA, he said, is targetting 1,500 units to be completed in March 2020.
Each shelter unit, which will stand on a 90-square-meter lot, will be a one-story structure made of concrete with a total floor area of 46 square meters. It will include a toilet and a kitchen, as well as an electrical and plumbing system.
Housing Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, who also chairs the TFBM, said the housing project is in line with government efforts to fast-tracking Marawi’s rehabilitation, which remains on track for completion by December 2021. He expressed confidence in meeting the deadline in rebuilding Marawi in coordination with the 56 member agencies of TFBM.
The beneficiaries of the shelter units to be built in the NHA’s Pamayanding sa Ranaw Residences are among those who can no longer rebuild their homes along the six-meter easement along Agus River, as well as the reclaimed area in front of Lake Lanao.
Skilled internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been initially identified and will be employed in the construction of the permanent shelters through a cash-for-work modality under the livelihood component of the UN-Habitat project.
Construction is expected to be finished in November 2019.
The Rebuilding Marawi Project has adopted a community-based approach that places the community at the center of their recovery process.
“At the heart of this Project is our partner communities who actively engage with other communities and stakeholders in the rehabilitation work. We believe that people have the inherent capabilities to cope with extreme difficulties once their potential are harnessed. The Project is designed that way to support the rebuilding of their lives and their physical assets,” said Barth.
Del Rosario said that in the housing site will also rise a public market, a plaza, mosque, school building, and a sports dome worth P200 million in a 5,000-sq.m. lot. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)