Dalaguete town Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante said they, especially the farmers in the town, are looking forward to the completion of the said project since it is expected to help cut production and marketing costs of vegetables and other high value farm products with easy transportation of farm produce.
It is in Dalaguete town where the vegetable basket in the Province of Cebu is located, particularly in barangay Mantalongon.
Under this particular project, a one-kilometer stretch of tramlines, which are similar to cable cars, will be put up connecting barangays Obo and Langkas. Barangay Mantalongon is located near barangay Obo.
Cesante said construction work of the project, which started at the first week of April, is now at the concrete curing stage, needed prior to the construction of the foundation or base of the tramlines from both ends.
The Department of Agriculture released P1 million from its funds for this particular project, being a part of its high value commercial crops program.
On the other hand, the municipal government put up a P1 million counterpart fund for the said project.
But since this is the first of its kind, Cesante said they may have to scour for additional funds to fine-tune the implementation of the said project.
The tramline project is just part of the farm-to-market infrastructure projects that the DA is implementing in coordination with the provincial government and the concerned local government units.
Prior to its implementation, DA already established a vegetable packaging project at Upper Mantalongon. The project costs P700,000 and the equipment another P750,000. - Cristina C. Birondo