Japan consortium bags P13 billion Davao road project

MANILA, Philippines — A Japanese consortium has been awarded the civil works contract for the initial implementation of the Davao City bypass construction project, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.

In a statement, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said the group of Shimizu-Ulticon-Takenaka would undertake the construction of Contract Package 1-1 covering 10.7 kilometers of four-lane highway, inclusive of 2.3-km tunnel.

The contract, signed on Thursday, is worth P13.23 billion and will be undertaken within 37 months.

Overall, the Davao City bypass project has a total length of 45.5 kms divided into six packages.

The project will be funded by the Japanese official development assistance signed last June, providing the Philippine government with special terms for economic partnership loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Villar said the bypass road would be a driving force for economic growth in the entire Mindanao by connecting the port area to the southern end of Davao while avoiding the city center.

He said it would mitigate congestion in Davao with the current one hour and 44 minutes travel time between Barangay Sirawan in Toril District in Davao City and Barangay J.P. Laurel in Panabo City via the Pan-Philippine Highway Diversion Road to be reduced into 49 minutes through the project.

DPWH undersecretary for unified project management office operations and technical services Emil Sadain said Japanese technology such as excavation techniques for tunnel construction would be applied to the project.

He said Filipino engineers and skilled workers may take advantage of acquiring technical knowledge and expertise in the building of the tunnel which will be the longest in the country once completed.

A significant component included in the awarded contract package is the 2.3 kilometer mountain tunnel that will run through the mountainous barangay to shorten the drive from the Davao-Digos Intersection of the Pan Philippine Highway in Toril, Davao City towards the intersection of the Davao-Agusan National Highway in Panabo City.