New facilities in Aurora to boost maritime security in PH Rise

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 6, 2022): New facilities in Aurora to boost maritime security in PH Rise (By Zorayda Tecson)

NEW NAVAL FACILITIES. The Department of Public Works and Highways-Aurora District Engineering Office has completed the construction of P36.63-million naval facilities in Casiguran, Aurora. The projects consist of a typhoon-resilient main building with complete amenities, a radio room, and an armory, intended to boost the country’s security in the Philippine Rise. (Photo courtesy of DPWH-3)

The Department of Public Works and Highways-Aurora District Engineering Office has completed the construction of PHP36.63-million naval facilities in Casiguran, Aurora intended to boost the country’s security in the Philippine Rise.

Aurora District Engineer Roderick Andal said in a statement on Wednesday the facilities in the naval operating base consist of a typhoon-resilient main building with complete amenities, a radio room, and an armory.

He said the project also includes the construction of two units of 40-footer container vans converted into navy personnel barracks, four toilets and four shower stalls, four guardhouses, a sewage treatment plant, and a perimeter fence.

Likewise, he said a 100-kilovolt amps (kVA) generator, reliable water source, and solar panels with batteries as an alternative source of energy were installed.

“The project implemented by our office is expected to boost security in the Philippine Rise and at the same time, strengthen the Philippine Navy's capability of securing the country's maritime areas,” Andal said.

The base, which would serve as a naval support facility and naval air detachment, is close to Philippine Rise, a 13 million-hectare undersea region east of Luzon.

Through the convergence program of the Department of National Defense-Department of Public Works and Highways (DND-DPWH) known as the “Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad” (TIKAS), various infrastructures and capacity-building projects have been implemented in an effort to advance the interests and welfare of the national defense force.

DPWH-Central Luzon Director Roseller A. Tolentino has earlier assured the implementation of all TIKAS projects in the region in support of the national government’s strategy of building a modern military.

This year, a total budget of PHP957.51 million will be used in modernizing military facilities across the region.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1171555