The city government here is eyeing to light up its village streets with solar-powered lamp posts and rehabilitate and expand its road network systems to make the area bike-friendly.

In an interview Monday, re-elected Mayor Michael Keon bared the development plans of the city in the next three years.

Last Sunday, the second-term mayor took his oath of office at the city auditorium at 8:40 a.m. with his nephew, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc as his administering officer.

“One of the things that we will concentrate on with the Laoag City council is the rehabilitation and expansion of the road network as well as the lighting system. Laoag means “light”, it must be lit up properly,” Keon said, citing a solar company interested in establishing a solar farm in the city to benefit its 80 barangays.

Keon said talks are underway for the proposed establishment of a solar farm but the specific details are still being finalized.

As for road rehabilitation and expansion, Keon said the project is to decongest traffic and promote sustainable transport like biking.

Meanwhile, Manotoc said his differences with Keon are now all in the past and “water under the bridge now” as he looks forward to having better working relations with the mayor’s administration.

“We know that each other’s success is our shared success. For, after all, Laoag City is a component city of the province and we, in the province, know that there is so much work to do in Laoag,” he said. (PNA)