Davide to raise private sector role in Trans-axial Highway project

Trans axial

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III will invite more representatives from the private sector to join the Technical Working Committee (TWC) for the proposed P56-billion Trans-axial Highway.

“This is inclusive. Due to the large membership, I cannot give you all the names,” he told reporters last Friday.

The TWC was first organized last February with  Edgar Sibonga appointed as chairman and representatives of several provincial government offices as members.

Davide also appointed representatives from the private sector including one from the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), and Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

Davide said the project has other components and not just the  highway.

He said the project, which was championed bHy the late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. ,  includes a seven-kilometer-long seaport, a 550-hectare reclamation for Talisay-Minglanilla-Naga and four economic zones in Cebu’s 2nd to 5th districts.

“We  already conducted a pre-feasibility study to make sure everything is fine-tuned before we publicly promote it,” Davide said.

The late vice governor  Sanchez lobbied for the Trans-axial Highway, but was frustrated when then Gov. Gwen Garcia had it mothballed  and cut off funding of project consultants.

Upon his election, Davide pledged to pursue the project, a 300-km. highway that will connect the southern most part of Cebu in Santander to the northern tip in Daanbantayan  town.  The  highway will cut travel time between the two points by two hours but Davide said the massive project would not likely start during his term.

“The concept is still so raw. That’s why we’re trying to refine it so that when we announce it, we’ll be ready to explain to the people what this project is all about,” Davide said.

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