The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has partnered with Japanese engineers with high-level expertise in tunnel engineering and road infrastructure development to ease the country’s long-time woes on traffic congestion.
DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said the focus of the working cooperation is on the operation and maintenance (O&M) of of road tunnels and related facilities in the ongoing Davao City Bypass Construction Project and the proposed Dalton Pass East Alternative Road Project.
Bonoan said Japan is the leading authority in tunneling technology as it has always been at the forefront of advancement in construction and engineering with state-of-the-art equipment and world-renowned machinery.
“This nation also has a large network of controlled-access toll expressways,” said Bonoan.
Bonoan and Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain led the DPWH in signing the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Tuesday, Oct. 4, with representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
MLIT Vice Minister for Engineering Affairs Mikio Yoshioka led the delegation of Japanese engineers and vowed to strengthen the cooperation, business relations, and capacity development of the Philippines and the Japanese government.
PH-JPN workshop
The DPWH and MLIT also launched a workshop on the sharing and transfer of Japanese construction, O&M technologies, and expertise.
The workshop was attended by over 100 Japanese nationals spearheaded by Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, MLIT Vice Minister Yoshioka, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Philippine Office Chief Representative Sakamoto Takema, and delegates from leading Japanese construction firms.
The Philippine side is led by Sadain, Assistant Secretary Constante A. Llanes Jr., Project Directors Benjamin A. Bautista, Ramon A. Arriola III, and Rodrigo I. Delos Reyes; National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Assistant Secretary Roderick M. Planta; Department of Finance (DOF) Executive Director Helena B. Habulan; Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center Deputy Executive Director Eleazar A. Ricote; and among other construction business leaders.
Bonoan lauded the workshop that would open opportunities for strategic partnership and collaboration to support the current efforts of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. in infrastructure programs and initiatives to ‘build better more'.
JICA is long-time bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) partner of the Philippines in ongoing development cooperation projects in infrastructure development, disaster risk reduction, health, education, and agriculture, among others.
Sadain, on the other hand, said technical assistance and loan grants from JICA helped the major infrastructure projects undertaken by the Philippine government.
Sadain is in-charge of the DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) operations implementing large-scale infrastructure projects.
Davao Bypass Project
DPWH Assistant Secretary Constante Llanes Jr. shared a traffic decongestion program anchored in the master plan on high-standard highway network development, including the Davao City Bypass Road Project.
The construction works and applied tunneling technology in the ongoing Davao City Bypass Project were discussed by Project Director Akira Mito of the Shimizu-Ulticon-Takenaka joint venture.
Moreover, the officials of Nippon Expressway Company, Metropolitan Expressway Company, and Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company shared their experience and proven expertise in the construction and operations, and maintenance of road tunnels in mountainous, undersea, and urban areas as well as long-span bridges.
Meanwhile, the respective programs and projects of the two expressway concessionaires in the Philippines connecting places and improving mobilities are discussed by Raoul Eduardo C. Romulo and Mr. Allan G. Alfon of San Miguel Holdings Corporation and Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, respectively.