By rosebell
The first long-distance mountain tunnel in the Philippines, has achieved a breakthrough.
Including construction of a 29.7km, four-lane road and bridges and two 2.3km tunnels, the Davao City Bypass Construction Project is being built by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), whereas constructing of the 15.8km portion of the bypass, giving a total length of 45.5km is up to the Philippine government.
Following completion of excavation from opposite ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling (NATM) method, the Barangay Waan, Davao City hosted the ceremonial breakthrough of the northbound tunnel on 28 April.
According to JICA chief representative Baba Takashi: “Not only does this project build roads and tunnels, but it also develops capacity on tunnel operations and maintenance using Japanese experience and expertise. The optimal combination of hard and soft support is what I proudly call JICA’s value addition contributing to comprehensive development and to achieve safe, reliable and comfortable transport for a better tomorrow.”
As the most congested metropolitan area in the Philippines, the Davao City Bypass is going to decrease journey times from Maharlika Highway’s Davao-Digos and Davao-Tagum sections from around 1 hour and 44 minutes, to 49 minutes.
