U.S. Government Partners With Zamboanga City

  U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Brian L. Goldbeck (left) and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat cross a new suspension footbridge built in Barangay Pasonanca through a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the city government.  The 36-meter-long steel suspension footbridge across the Pasonanca River provides more than 11,000 residents with safer and more efficient access to commercial centers, schools and government services.  The city government of Zamboanga provided 25 percent of the infrastructure project’s total cost. Through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, USAID has completed more than 1,540 barangay infrastructure projects to help spark economic activity in Mindanao, including water systems, solar dryers, boat landings, bridges and footbridges, trading centers and roadway upgrades, in partnership with local governments.  The GEM Program is implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority.