The national government through the Department of Public Works and Highways will roll out close to a billion pesos worth of infrastructure projects in Cebu City as part of preparations for the nation’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit next year.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said this was disclosed to him by Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson whom he met Thursday afternoon.
Of the promised projects, P356 million will go to concreting of national and local roads within the city as part of a convergence program by the DPWH and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“This P356 million projects already has money for it,” Rama said.
He added that Singson has given a favorable response to a P530 million project proposal of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Board for the improvement of the city’s traffic control system.
“Secretary Singson said that DPWH will be helping us with these. They still have to look for money to fun this project proposal by Citom,” Rama said.
Of the proposed project, P470 million will go to a traffic signal system for the city. The cost is based on the World Bank’s Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study which included a traffic signal component. Traffic management in Cebu City is handled mainly through a signal system created by the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) which was installed in the city in the early 1990s under the auspices of the DPWH Metro Cebu Development Project.
According to the Citom Board’s executive summary, this system is “now in dire need of an overhaul and upgrading” due to “wear and tear from continuous operation for more than 20 years.” The SCATS manufacturer no longer produces the parts for the city’s version of SCATS which hinders proper maintenance of the traffic signal system.
Another P60 million will be used to fund land appropriation for nine flared junctions in the city. These junctions are in Archbishop Reyes Ave./Gov. Cuenco Ave.–Salinas Drive; Archbishop Reyes Ave—Gorordo Ave.–F. Sotto St.; MJ Cuenco Ave. – Juan Luna Ave.; Gov. Cuenco Ave. – ML Quezon Ave. – Gorordo Ave. – M. Gaisano St. (Sudlon); MJ Cuenco Ave. – Mactan Road (Ayala); Gen. Maxilom Ave. – MJ Cuenco Ave.; Gen. Maxilom Ave. – Gorordo Ave./Echavez St.; and in Gen. Maxilom Ave. – Rahmann St.
The remaining P300,000 will be used for the construction of offset loading and unloading bays along Gov. Cuenco Ave. from Juan Luna Ave. to Talamban Sports Complex.
“Worth mentioning is that while the context of this proposal is the upcoming events in 2015 and 2016, these infrastructure development have been carefully selected to also have long-term positive impact on the rest of Cebu City,” read the Citom board’s executive summary, referring to the Apec summit and the International Eucharistic Congress in 2016.
Rama said DPWH has not set a definite schedule for the project’s implementation.