Four major priority investment projects have been identified by the Department of Tourism (DOT) 13 (Caraga) and the local government units (LGUs) of Surigao del Norte province to be implemented in Siargao Island.

The projects, under DOT’s TouRIST program, will be supported by the World Bank (WB).

TouRIST stands for Transforming Communities towards Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Tourism Program, in which Siargao Island was chosen as among the tourist destinations in the country identified as recipients by the DOT and WB.

The other recipients include Davao City, the Island Garden City of Samal, Bohol, and Siquijor.

Jean A. Camarin, DOT-13 officer-in-charge, said Thursday the technical working group (TWG), composed of representatives of the DOT and the recipient LGUs, has identified a solid waste management facility, ways to improve water facilities, livelihood programs, and disaster-resilient projects as the priority investment projects for Siargao Island under TouRIST.

“This is the initial project identification that the TWG has identified for Siargao. The next phase is the preparation and finalization of the feasibility studies for these identified projects,” Camarin said.

She added that the identification of the priority projects was based on the technical studies conducted by the TWG in Siargao Island.

The identified projects will be submitted to the WB for the preparation and finalization of the feasibility studies, Camarin said.

“When the feasibility studies are finalized, then we will be able to determine how much loan will be needed to fund these projects,” she added.

Last October, Surigao del Norte Governor Francisco Matugas met with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and WB officials in line with the preparations for the implementation of the TouRIST program in Siargao.

The WB will allocate a USD300-million loan to fund the implementation of projects under TouRIST.

The TouRIST program envisions to develop resilient, inclusive and sustainable tourism destinations through the establishment of an appropriate mechanism and implementation of requisite support projects to ensure destination competitiveness and sustainability. (PNA)