Monday, September 03, 2007 Cost overruns may delay road improvement project
THE improvement of Cervantes-Mankayan-Abatan Road that would provide a strengthened east-west link of Cordillera and the Ilocos region is expected to start on the fourth quarter of this year but cost overruns may delay the start of the project.
Earlier this month, a Regional Project Monitoring Committee (RPMC) Inspectorate Team, headed by Environment Regional Director Samuel Peñafiel, along with representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Philippine-Japan Highway Loan Project Management Office, inspected this foreign-assisted road project.
The 31.56-kilometer Cervantes-Mankayan-Abatan Road is a component of the Cordillera Roads Improvement Project under the Arterial Road Link Development Project (ARLDP) phase V funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Regional Director Juan Ngalob, who chairs the RPMC, said the project was already bidden out with the China Harbour Engineering as the winning bidder. The result was forwarded to JBIC for review and confirmation.
The project cost is P672 million but given the recent appreciation of the peso, the peso equivalent of the loan proceeds may no longer be enough for civil works. This may delay the start of project implementation as there's a need for loan re-adjustment/realignment of the government of the Philippines counterpart and required Investment Coordinating Committee (ICC) review, said the RPMC inspection report.
Based on the project description, the scope of work would involve the construction of a 7.63-kilometer two-lane Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement, 17 kilometers of asphalt concrete pavement (ACP), rehabilitation of five bridges and construction of one bridge.
But in a meeting with Mankayan Mayor Manalo Galuten during the ocular inspection, he requested the DPWH to consider cement concrete pavement all thorough out the project instead of asphalt concrete pavement that he said has shorter life span.
Among others, it was agreed that the DPWH will consider the use of PCC through out the stretch instead of the programmed ACP because ACP does not last long in Cordillera, which is characterized by high rainfall rates, high seismicity and incessant landslides. This would be included in the revised detailed engineering and contract.
The Regional Development Council (RDC), on the other hand, would help justify the proposed changes from ACP to PCC and request the ICC to immediately approve the supplemental loan for the project.
It can be recalled that the RDC, then chaired by former Benguet governor Raul Molintas, approved Resolution CAR-18-2003, requesting the DPWH to use PCC for the entire lengths of contract packages 4B and 5 under the ARLDP. The present RDC said it would reiterate this concern.
The ARLDP contract package 4B is Cervantes-Sabangan Road, which is now on its pre-qualification on contractors' stage.
The ARDP aims to develop safe and reliable roads to support the growth of agricultural, industrial, commercial and tourism activities in rural areas.
Cervantes Mankayan Abatan Road, a vital lifeline in the region that serves as an alternate exit at Manila North Road in Ilocos Sur when the disaster-prone Halsema Highway is closed to traffic, is presently mostly gravel. This was included as a priority project under the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle and the North Luzon agribusiness super region.
The RDC, through the RPMC, necessitated the conduct of a pre-construction visit to have first-hand knowledge of this project, to identify critical issues that could affect project start up and to facilitate its resolution. This would also allow for the smooth entry of the DPWH central office in the project coverage, especially with the concerned local government units and as initial step for the eventual establishment of an Infrastructure Monitoring and Advisory Group (Imag).
This road project is considered critical by the RDC because JBIC funding for other Cordillera road projects, such as Abra-Kalinga Road, would depend on the performance of the three projects.
JBIC is funding three major road projects -- the almost completed Baguio-Aritao Road, Cervantes-Mankayan- Abatan and Cervantes-Sabangan.
As agreed during the exit conference, RDC ExCom Resolution CAR-17-2007, which provides for the establishment of an Imag for the project to facilitate the resolution of pre-implementation issues like rights-of-way conflicts, social acceptability and mobilization, among others, shall be implemented.
