A DAVAO City Mass Transit Line (DCTML) designed to link up with the Mindanao Railway, an ongoing project of the national government, is among the recommendations made by a draft infrastructure development plan for Davao City until 2045.
A final draft of the study conducted by the city government of Davao and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) was released Tuesday, April 24.
Titled Infrastructure Modernization for Davao City (IM4-Davao), it was undertaken over a period of one year and three months.
The plan focused on transport projects, water supply projects, wastewater management projects, and solid waste management project.
Among the proposed transport projects is the DCTML which will stretch from Mudiang to Toril Proper.
Other transport projects were proposed to be implemented in the short term (until 2022), mid-term (2023-2030) and long-term (2031-2045).
The transport projects in the short term included the completion of the Davao City Bypass Road, and Davao City Coastal Road; secondary routes between Davao City Bypass road and Davao City Diversion Road; and establishment and operationalization of the Davao City Traffic Control Center.
The mid-term plan includes the extension of Davao City Diversion Road to Toril, and the construction of Davao Riverside Boulevard together with river improvement.
For long-term are the construction of Buhangin-Bunawan Bypass Road, construction of Talomo-Calinan Bypass Road, and continuous secondary road development.
Ken Kumasawa, team leader of IM4 Davao 2045, said the study contains a long list of projects with a total estimated cost of P300 billion and recommended for implementation within 27 years.
Davao City assistant city administrator Tristan Dwight Domingo said the study lists planned infrastructure projects that the city needs as it tries to move towards global significance and competitiveness.
Aside from traffic, the plan also sought to address the water supply concerns expected to arise with the shift of source of water source from production wells to bulk water supply by the year 2021.
It also highlights plans for wastewater management and identified areas wherein sewerage treatment plants will be placed.
It also includes a solid waste management plan as one of its focus areas.
The short-term plan for solid waste management includes the rehabilitation of landfill site, to come up with basic design of the new landfill, Material Recovery Facility (MRF) pilot plant project: Plan/design/procurement/operation (with Monitoring) of MRF, and preparation of Davao City Waste Eco Park.
The mid-term plan includes the initial operation of Waste to Energy (WTE), phase 1 operation of the new sanitary landfill, operation of MRF middle class capacity, and operationalization of Davao City Waste Eco Park.
The long-term plan for solid waste management includes the Phase 12 operation of the new sanitary landfill, operation of the second WTE plant, operation of the MRFs (middle class capacity, several sites) in operation and the completion of the Davao City Waste Eco Park.
Domingo said the discussion on how they are going to implement the plan will be another matter. He said that they will also consider the recommendations made during the study on how to implement certain aspects of the plan especially for the railway system and waste to energy projects.