The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board’s Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) has approved six road and rail infrastructure projects worth P532.87 billion. These include the P57.07-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT 4) project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which will be funded through official development assistance (ODA).
The other approved five, all projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), are the P175.7-billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, P76.41-billion Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th Bridge) and Coastal Road Construction Project, P28.26-billion Davao City Coastal Bypass Road Project, P5.9-billion Capas-Botolan Road Project, and P189.53-billion Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges Project.
Aside from these, the NEDA Board approved the proposed change in scope and cost of the P46.8-billion Davao City Bypass Construction Project, and the extensions in loan validity and implementation period and increase in cost of the P1.13-billion Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project.
It likewise approved the P8.51-billion EDSA Greenway Project and P6.25-billion Maritime Safety Enhancement Program, both projects of the DOT.
“These projects are the building blocks of our people’s dreams and aspirations. As such, we intend to roll out as many as we can to ease congestion and spread growth throughout the country,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement.
The MRT 4 Project entails the construction of a 15.56-kilometer (km) elevated monorail transit system from N. Domingo, Quezon City to Taytay Diversion Road-Manila East Road rotunda in Taytay, Rizal.
The project aims to help reduce travel time and improve mobility and accessibility between Metro Manila and Rizal. The rail will generally run along Ortigas Avenue, Ortigas Avenue Extension, and Taytay Diversion Road, except for a segment between the proposed Meralco and Rosario Stations where the alignment will detour on Frontera Drive, Las Fiestas Road, then C-5 Avenue before returning to Ortigas Avenue Extension.
The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project will help cut down travel time and ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila as well as in gateways to south and north Luzon through the construction of a 32.15-km, four-lane bridge starting from Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, crossing Manila Bay, and terminating in Barangay Timalan, Naic, Cavite.
It also involves building two navigation bridges, interchanges, land viaducts, turnaround facilities, special span bridge near Cavite coast, toll plaza and administration building, as well as improving local existing junctions. The project will be implemented over a period of six years.
The Cebu-Mactan Bridge and Coastal Road Construction Project aims to improve the capacity of the existing road network in Cebu and facilitate faster movement of trade, people, and convenience in Metro Cebu.
The project involves the construction of a 3.3-km bridge with an elevated viaduct of 3.385 kilometers, with two lanes in each direction. It also includes the construction of a 4.9-km four-lane coastal road with a 4.751-km elevated viaduct. Interchanges will be constructed at the linkage between the two projects in Mandaue City.
The Capas-Botolan Road Project involves the construction/opening of a 35.64-km road, including eight bridges, with a cumulative total length of 1,612.82 linear meters between Capas and Botolan.
The project aims to provide an effective and efficient transport facility that will reduce travel time and cost from Capas to Botolan and other neighboring towns and provinces, as well as serve as an access road to New Clark City. Specifically, the project will directly link the provinces of Tarlac and Zambales and reduce travel time to about 1 hour and 22 minutes from an estimated 4 hours (using the Pangasinan route in the North) or 2 hours and 40 minutes (using the MacArthur Highway and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway).
The PGN Island Bridges Project, meanwhile, will see the construction of 32.47-km, four-lane, two sea-crossing bridges, including connecting roads and interchanges that will connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros.
The project intends to provide a safer, faster, and more convenient transportation linkage between Panay, Guimaras and Negros through a connected land passageway. It is seen to improve the highway trunk networks, thus allowing the flow of people, goods and services between the three islands.
The Davao City Coastal Bypass Road Project, which will be funded by both ODA and general appropriations, aims to serve as a bypass road/alternative route to the Davao-Cotabato Road and ABS-CBN Diversion Road to ease traffic congestion along busy intersections and Central Business District; and disperse urbanization outside the Davao City Urban Center, which is already over-saturated because of the concentration of large-scale shopping malls and its proximity to international transportation facilities.
The project entails the construction of an 18.21-km road, with four-lane facility and a speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour, from Bago Aplaya to R. Castillo.
Another bypass road project in Davao, the Davao City Bypass Construction Project, aims to improve connectivity and mitigate traffic congestion in Davao City. The project calls for the construction of a 45.5-km four-lane bypass road, including a 2.8-km tunnel section. This will run from the Davao-Digos intersection of the Pan Philippine Highway in Toril, Davao City to the Davao-Agusan National Highway in Panabo City.
The proposed change in the project’s scope involves an additional total length of 300 meters, due to an increase in length of the cut and cover tunnel section, bridge section, embankments, and bored piles. There is also a change in the design of the intersection with the Davao-Bukidnon Road—from a flyover crossing to an at-grade road and underpass. There is also an increase in cost from P25.85 billion, as confirmed by the NEDA Board ad referendum on October 20, 2018, to P46.8 billion.
Meanwhile, the NEDA Board approved the request of the DPWH for a 24-month loan validity extension, an 18-month project implementation period extension, and 9.04% increase in project cost for the Samar Pacific Coastal Road.
The project involves the construction of 11.30 kilometers of the unpaved section of the Samar Pacific Coastal Road, and the erection of three bridges with a total length of 261 linear meters.
Photo courtesy of NEDA
