MALUSO, Basilan Province — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, through the Ministry of Public Works, has formally inaugurated and turned over to Maluso local government the P20-million concrete footbridge in Barangay Upper Port Holland in this town.

MPW Basilan District Engineer Kasim Hasanin on Wednesday led the turnover of the newly completed footbridge project to Maluso Mayor Hanie Bud during a simple ceremony held at Barangay Upper Port Holland.

He added that the funding for the construction of the footbridge was sourced out from the 2022 infrastructure allocation fund of MPW Basilan District Engineering Office and described the footbridge as having a width of 2 meters and a length of 400 meters and is equipped with 1,000-watt solar-powered street lights.

The footbridge is also equipped with a finger wharf where fishermen can dock and unload their catch, the MPW Basilan district engineer said.

According to Hasanin, the construction of the footbridge was supposed to be completed in 241 calendar days but his office was able to finish it in 90 calendar days only.

He credited the swift completion of the bridge to his construction engineering department, the construction workers and laborers.

"After I received feedback that the residents of the village wanted us to complete the project soon, I immediately asked my construction engineering chief to fast-track the completion of the project so the residents could utilize it," said Hasanin.

Earlier, residents of the village had clamored for a new and decent footbridge which prompted Hasanin to order his engineering department to inspect the area and list the materials needed to construct a decent footbridge for the residents in the area.

It was learned that the previous footbridge in the village was made of wood and was already rotten and older residents could hardly utilize the bridge in going out of their homes.