The Asian Development Bank approved on Thursday a $1-billion or nearly P55.5-billion loan to help establish a city-wide public transport project in Davao City.
Called the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, it would be the first in the country to deploy electric bus fleets at scale in support of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and promote climate action.
ADB’s largest road-based public transport project in the Philippines is expected to serve as a pilot for overhauling the country’s public road transport system.
It will support the procurement of a modern fleet of about 1,100 buses with operations managed by the private sector under performance-based contracts.
The new fleet is expected to reduce 60 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions from public transport in Davao City, the country’s third-largest city by population, the ADB said.
ADB senior transport specialist for Southeast Asia Shuji Kimura said in a statement the project would transform the quality of Davao City’s public transport and support the city’s rapid economic growth with a low-carbon and climate-resilient bus system.
“Not only will this support the Philippines’ climate goals, but it will help to improve the lives of vulnerable populations especially women and the young who use public transport daily,” Kimura said.
The project will service about 800,000 passengers a day. It also involves the construction of around 1,000 bus stops with bright lighting and shelters, five bus depots and three bus terminals and providing bus driving training for the new system.
It will upgrade the city’s public transport experience via an intelligent transport system that includes a bus location system, automatic fare collection systems and Wi-Fi connectivity in buses, terminals and depots.
Based on extensive consultations with government and community stakeholders, the project will include a social development program to mitigate any adverse impacts and risks related to the restructuring of Davao City’s transport sector.
The assistance will include livelihood opportunities for affected public utility jeepney drivers, operators, and allied workers and their families, among others.
The ASEAN Infrastructure Fund is co-financing the project with a $10-million loan under its ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility. The Green Climate Fund is providing a $50-million loan under the ACGF’s Green Recovery Program. Both facilities are administered by ADB.
Technical assistance of $1 million will also be delivered to support the Department of Transportation and the Davao City local government in developing staff capacities to oversee bus operations and overall project implementation.
ADB has provided project preparatory technical assistance to help Davao City plan for the new bus system, including a capacity development program and a social development program since 2015.
ADB’s Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility supported the government in preparing the project, including identifying the location of facilities, on-site surveys, designs and specifications, consultation with stakeholders and procurement support.