THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) commenced on Friday, November 19, 2021, the excavation work for the Davao City Bypass Construction Project (DCBCP), which aims to improve transport logistics and mitigate vehicular traffic congestion in Davao City.

In a statement, DPWH said it has officially started work on the 2.3-kilometer two-tube mountain tunnel of the bypass project.

The road tunnel is part of the 10.7 kilometers Contract Package I-1 of the DCBCP implemented by DPWH Unified Project Management Office (Upmo) Operations.

The commencement for the construction of the DCBCP was attended by DPWH Acting Secretary Roger Mercado, along with Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa, DPWH Undersecretary for Upmo Operations and Chief Implementer of Flagship Projects under Build, Build, Build (BBB) Program Emil K. Sadain, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa.

Sadain said the tunnel project will soon be the first-ever long-distance mountain tunnel in the Philippines and was designed by Japanese experts to have better seismic resilience.

"To support the underground development, equipment that includes horizontal boring machine for geotechnical investigation, twin header tunnel excavator and drill jumbo are deployed to work at the north and south portal. Additional equipment on the ground also includes erecter with shotcrete machine, tunnel ventilation and dust collector, side dump payloader, and articulated dump truck," DPWH said in a press release.

The agency said the contract package costing P13.23 billion has an estimated completion date of January 2024.

While construction of the tunnel is the centerpiece of this project contract package, there are other significant portions of the work as well. The contract includes the construction of a 7.9-kilometer four-lane road, three pairs of bridges with a total length of 500 meters, two underpasses, two overpasses, 12 box culverts (waterways), and four at-grade Intersection.

The 45.5-kilometer bypass road will begin in Barangay Sirawan, Toril, Davao City and will end in Barangay JP Laurel, Panabo City, cutting the usual travel time of 1 hour and 44 minutes via Maharlika Highway to just 49 minutes.

Sadain said with the rapid population growth and economic development in recent years, DCBCP will provide job creation during construction and economic benefits through reduced travel time savings across the city.

DPWH said the entire DCBCP is divided into six contract packages with packages I-1, I-2, and I-3 being financed by JICA Loan Agreement Nos. PH-P261 and PH-P273 while packages II-1, II-2, and II-3 are funded by the Philippine government.