The City Government of Legazpi is expected to open its modern P43-million Sanitary Landfill Facility located in Barangay Banquerohan in August this year. The open dump site will be closed after the opening of the sanitary landfill.

The City of Legazpi is currently undergoing an infrastructure and construction boom with several road and bridge projects nearing completion in and around the city’s vibrant business district. The centerpiece of these projects is the new seaside Legazpi Boulevard stretching more than 4 kilometers from the Embarcadero to Barangay Lamba in the south.

The Bicol International Airport (Southern Luzon International Airport) is currently under construction in a 140-hectare prime land straddling Bicol’s premier town of Daraga and neighboring Camalig. The new airport, targeted for completion in 2013, will answer the need for a modern airport in Southern Luzon, which should cater to more business activities in the area and conveniently link Bicol to the rest of the country and the world. Here are some aerial snapshots of the ongoing construction of the airport and a glimpse of the recently completed BIA access road.

The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is set to resume regular trips to the Bicol Region by Friday next week, PNR officials told President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Tuesday. The PNR halted its daily train trips to the Bicol province after the San Cristobal bridge here was destroyed when typhoons “Milenyo” and “Reming” battered Southern Luzon one after the other in 2006. Now, with a newly constructed 50-meter bridge taking the place of the devastated San Cristobal bridge, the Bicol Train service, from Manila to Ligao, Albay will soon resume.

Gov. Joey Salceda is pushing Legazpi and the neighboring town of Daraga to become Metro Albay, a grand project that will make the metropolis a corridor of massive development in the region even before the completion of Daraga International Airport in 2013. “The Metro Albay, which is the twin cities of Legazpi and Daraga, will be the new urban center and economic capital of Bicol in the countryside,” Salceda declared. “This is the biggest project in the Bicol region which will be set up here, wherein Albay is expected to be the booming borough under the Aquino administration,” he added.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) here is fast tracking the completion of its new office building along Rizal St. in Old Albay District to have a bigger Economic and Financial Learning Center (EFLC), an official of the agency reported. The new facility is expected to open this year.

The Bicol International Airport project in Barangay Alobo in Daraga received an additional P23 million to complete its right-of-way acquisition which has so far attained close to a 75 percent mark of accomplishment. The amount is on top of the P82 million earlier released by Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to compensate the land owners whose property the new airport will occupy.

Some P15 billion in foreign investment has been set aside to pump prime the energy development prospects to make Albay among the national renewable energy capital of the country, a ranking official of a local electric cooperative said on Monday. Lawyer Rodolfo Bonafe, board chairman of the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO), said the investment fund would finance renewable energy projects within the next three to four years boosting the province energy development.

Six new bridges worth P212 million are to be built in the province of Albay. Funding for the six bridges have recently been approved under the French Protocol. The new bridges will be part of a road network that surround the Southern Luzon International Airport (Bicol International Airport) in Barangay Alobo, Daraga.

A new coastal road and seawall project in Legazpi City was inaugurated last September 30, 2009. The Legazpi boulevard extension is a scenic 4.095 kilometer seaside road that takes advantage of the panoramic view of the azure Albay Gulf, the Kapuntukan (Sleeping Lion Hill) and the surrounding islands. The road will feature a bicylcle lane and a wide promenade with landscaping and decorative lamps perfect for jogging and strolling.

The Metro Integrated Transport Terminal (MITT) started operation on Monday giving commuters from all over Albay province the experience of a world-class transport terminal. Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal led the formal opening of the state of the art terminal l at the corner of Tahao and Alternate roads in a simple ceremony attended by top executives of the province.