Forum scoffs at city proposals for flyovers, undersea tunnel

Saturday, February 11, 2012

A FLYOVER then an undersea tunnel?

Businessmen and technical experts who shared their ideas in the Sustainable City Dialogues 2012 last week didn’t agree to some proposed projects that were not backed by proper planning.

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They were referring to the flyover projects supposed to be funded by Rep. Rachel Marguerite del Mar (Cebu City, north district) and were ordered stopped by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Another project that is starting to attract opposition is the undersea tunnel, which is among the first bills that del Mar filed in the 15th Congress.

The flyovers were temporarily stopped because of the opposition from the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), and the religious and private sectors.

During the fourth day of the Sustainable City Dialogues 2012, an event organized by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (Rafi) as research arm of the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB), there was a dialogue on infrastructure planning among representatives from some local government units, national line agencies and the private sector.

Dondi Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, said the undersea tunnel has no technical planning.

Rafi president Roberto Aboitiz also scoffed at the idea.

Del Mar passed House Bill 192, a revival of her father Raul del Mar’s previous bill, which provides for the construction of an undersea tunnel from Cebu City to Cordova, and a coastal road to Lapu-Lapu City.

The bill is pending before the committee on public works and highways.

Rep. del Mar believes the undersea tunnel will ease traffic on land and will provide an alternative route between Cebu City and other areas. It is also expected to spur economic growth.

The proposed tunnel is 500 meters long and is expected to complement the suggestion of Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south) to transfer the international airport from Lapu-Lapu City to Cordova.

Fr. Mar Alingasa, a private sector representative of the Regional Development Council, questioned the flyover projects during the infrastructure dialogue.

He wondered if it has an “honest to goodness” consultation that involved technical experts.

Aboitiz said, though, that the main purpose of the proposal of a Mega Cebu, which prompted the Sustainable City Dialogues, is for an integrated approach to development among 13 interconnecting cities and municipalities of Cebu from Danao City to Carcar City.