The Department of Public Works and Highways said over the weekend it expects to complete the construction of the P46.8-billion Davao City Bypass by 2027.
The bypass road, with a total length of 45.5 kilometers, was divided into six packages to optimize the construction schedule.
DPWH senior undersecretary Emil Sadain said an expert tunneling team from Japan, together with Filipino engineers and skilled workers, was expediting civil works on the ongoing contract package 1.
The project 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.
It is among the priority large-scale infrastructure project started during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, which President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. agreed to continue as planned.
“I am thrilled to see this project come to fruition, and really amazed to the tunneling technologies and innovations using state-of-the-art equipment now applied here in the Philippines,” Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said.
The project is also expected to provide Filipino engineers and skilled workers with new technical know-how in tunneling.
The contract package 1, costing P13.230 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 other than the mountain road tunnel.
The Davao City Bypass Construction Project starts from Davao-Digos section of the Pan-Philippine Highway in Barangay Sirawan, Davao City and goes to Davao-Panabo section of the Pan-Philippine Highway in Barangay J.P. Laurel, Panabo City. It is expected to ease traffic along the areas.
Once completed by 2027, the bypass road is expected to reduce travel time between Toril, Davao City and northern Panabo City, Davao Del Norte to less than 49 minutes from the usual travel time of one hour and 44 minutes via Maharlika Highway.
