MANILA - The government needs P51.6 billion to fully rehabilitate conflict-stricken Marawi City and adjacent areas in the wake of the 5-month siege that left it in ruins, an official said Friday.

Office of Civil Defense Assistant Secretary Toby Purisima said damage and losses from the five-month siege stood at about P18.2 billion.

Purisima said these amounts cover Marawi and other affected areas in Butig and Piagapo towns in Lanao del Sur. The Islamic city was a commercial and cultural center in Mindanao.

The official said the government has already allotted P10 billion this year for the Marawi rehabilitation effort.

“These are [for] short term PPAs (projects, programs and activities) that would cover not only this year but the coming years. So multiple year iyong ating funding sources para dito. And we’re exploring other funding sources like… the private sector,” Purisima said in a Bangon Marawi press briefing in Malacañang.

“But definitely, we have projects until 2022 and these are all being planned and these are all going to be part of the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Recovery Program (CRRP).”

Purisima said the CRRP will be released in March.

The government is planning to develop ground zero or the city's worst-hit area from scratch as it aims to bring back the glory of the once bustling Islamic city. Ground zero, the center of last year's firefights, covers 24 barangays in the city.

Malacañang earlier said Marawi will be “flattened” to pave the way for new infrastructure such as sturdier buildings, wider roads and underground electric cables.

• Gov’t to develop Marawi ‘ground zero’ from scratch

Purisima said the government aims to begin rehabilitation of ground zero by mid-April to early May.

The government has started accepting proposals for the rehabilitation project. These offers will be subjected to a Swiss challenge.

As the re-development of Marawi is underway, government has started distributing temporary shelters to affected residents.

The government aims to build a total of 6,400 temporary shelters and 2,500 permanent shelters to be given to the poorest and most conflict-affected Marawi residents.

• Duterte distributes transition shelters to Marawi residents

The Marawi siege ended last October 23 following 5 months of fierce battles between the Maute terrorist groups and state forces. It left some 1,100 dead, mostly terrorists, and displaced over 350,000 residents from the city and nearby towns.