Staff of NEDA Regional Office (NRO) VIII, along with planning officials of Ormoc City, attended the technical training-workshop on transportation planning and basic water supply system on 28-29 August 2019 at the Ritz Tower de Leyte, Tacloban City.

The activity introduced participants to the concepts of basic water supply system and transport planning and trained them on the use of transport planning software JICA Strada and water system modeling software EPANET. The two (2) pieces of software will allow planners to simulate possible solutions to the critical transport and water issues in the region paving the way for better transport and water systems in Eastern Visayas.

Dr. Alexis Fillone and Engr. Riches Bacero, transport specialists of the Ormoc City Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Development (SUID) master planning team, and Engr. Richard Burce, water specialist of the team, led the discussions during the workshop.

The importance of the activity was underscored as OIC-ARD Jam M. Colas, in her welcome message, emphasized the importance of good transport and water system planning for the development of a region. Sharing her experiences with the highly efficient transport and water systems in other countries she stressed, “They all started with a good plan.”

The training-workshop was the second of three (3) technical capability-building activities conducted as part of the Metro Ormoc SUID Master Planning to facilitate technology transfer. The last one is scheduled sometime in October 2019.

Article and Photos by: Knulp Aseo, NEDA VIII