The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) goes full speed ahead in the ongoing construction of a 2.3-kilometer mountain road tunnel at the central portion of the Davao City Bypass Construction Project that aims to improve mobility between Davao City and Panabo City.
In his briefing to DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Undersecretary Emil Sadain said that an expert tunneling team from Japan together with Filipino engineers and skilled workers are expediting civil works for the ongoing contract package 1 which covers the construction of a twin-tube 10-meter-diameter mountain road tunnel, the longest in the Philippines and an important component of the 45.5-kilometer Davao City Bypass Construction Project.
“An expert tunneling team from Japan together with Filipino engineers and skilled workers are expediting civil works.”
Davao City Bypass Construction Project is among the priority large-scale infrastructure projects started during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte and continued as planned under the administration of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.
Sadain reported that progress of the ongoing tunnel civil works at the north portal covering tunnel excavation, shotcrete works for excavation face, installation of steel ribs, wire mesh, and final shotcrete, drilling, and installation of rock bolts simultaneously at the northbound and southbound directions are at 196-meter and 237-meter, respectively.
Bonoan together with Sadain; Undersecretaries Eugenio Pipo Jr. and Carlos Mutuc; Project Directors Benjamin Bautista, Ramon Arriola III, and Rodrigo Delos Reyes of the Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations; and DPWH Region XI Director Rey Peter Gille inspected the on-going package 1 particularly the road tunnel’s north portal at Barangay Waan.
“I am thrilled to see this project come to fruition, and really amazed at the tunneling technologies and innovations using state-of-the-art equipment now applied here in the Philippines,” the public works chief said.
Meanwhile, the progress of the tunneling activities from the opposite end at the south portal is at 264-meter in the northbound direction and 203-meter in the southbound direction.
“People can see that this infrastructure project is making progress and the government is building something that is very exciting.”
“People can see that this infrastructure project is making progress and the government is building something that is very exciting,” the public works head stressed.
The project is also expected to develop Filipino engineers and skilled workers with new technical know-how in tunneling.
Other than the mountain road tunnel, contract package 1 costing ₱13.230 billion awarded to Shimizu – Ulticon – Takenaka joint venture involves the construction of a four-lane road with a length of 7.9 kilometers; three bridges including the 200 meters Davao River Bridge; two underpasses and two overpasses; 12 box culverts (waterways); and four at-grade intersections.
Implemented by DPWH UPMO Operations – Roads Management Cluster I (Bilateral) headed by Project Director Bautista, the ongoing project is under the on-site supervision and monitoring by Project Manager Joselito Reyes and Engrs. Juan Diña Jr. and Earl Nicholas Rada with Nippon Koei – Katahira – Nippon Engineering – Philkoei as engineering consultants.
The Davao City Bypass Construction Project starting from Davao-Digos section of the Pan-Philippine Highway in Barangay Sirawan, Davao City going to Davao-Panabo section of the Pan-Philippine Highway in Barangay J.P. Laurel, Panabo City is expected to ease traffic situations along the areas.
To optimize the construction schedule, the entire bypass road with a total length of 45.5-kilometer costing ₱46.8 billion is divided into six packages.
The ongoing CP 1-1 covers 10.7 kilometers of the 4-lane highway; CP 1-3 with a length of 6.1 kilometers with civil works procured and to start early next year after the concurrence of the contract; and CP 1-2 with a length of 12.8 kilometers are financed by Official Development Assistance (ODA) with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) thru the Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) Loan Agreement Nos. PH-P261 and PH-P273 amounting to ₱27.73 billion and the Government of the Philippines counterpart funds of ₱5.7 billion.
CP 2-1 (2.7 kilometers), CP 2-2 (3.5 kilometers), and CP 2-3 (9.7 kilometers) for civil works procurement will be implemented through funds of the Philippine government amounting to ₱13.37 billion.
Once completed by 2027, the bypass road will slash travel time between Toril, Davao City and the northern Panabo City, Davao Del Norte to under 49 minutes from the usual travel time of 1 hour and 44 minutes via Maharlika Highway.
