THE Department of Tourism’s (DoT) investment arm, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), has committed to increase the funding for the rehabilitation of the city’s renowned Burnham Park, according to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
Magalong said that the TIEZA’s initial P400 million grant for the city’s rehabilitation project will be reinstated along with an additional P200 million for use in the project.
“They are working on their documentation to present it to the new administration. They are still in full support of the Burnham Park development. Our program for that is still good, and hopefully they will return our funds by 2023,” Magalong said.
The Burnham Park project is part of the city’s Tourist Resiliency Project, which also includes the rehabilitation of the city’s sewage treatment plant, also to be funded through the TIEZA.
“As a tourism city, we cannot just set aside the condition of our river system while priding our city as a tourist destination. Bued and Balili rivers have been classified as the most polluted in 2019 and our city is contributory to that. One way to address it is to rehabilitate our old sewerage treatment plant and sewer lines,” Magalong said.
The treatment plant will not be funded by the TIEZA, but the agency will implement the project and secure the P60 million loan for its implementation from the Asian Development Bank.
The loan for the plant has already been approved, according to Magalong, and is now pending the appropriate procedures through the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
