The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) committed Friday, Dec. 2, to accelerate the excavation of a big-ticket bypass project in Davao City to partially open the first 10.7-kilometer central portion of the tunnel by early 2024.

DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said the 45.5-kilometer Davao City Bypass Construction Project is now under excavation activities for the twin-tube road tunnel. The project is worth P13.23 billion.
Sadain, who led the inspection of the project on Thursday, Dec. 1, said he noticed that the excavation activity “is on a smooth transition” following a round-the-clock monitoring of the department.
“The Davao City tunnel, with a north portal in Barangay Waan and south portal at the other end in Barangay Matina Biao, is a major component of the 10.7-kilometer contract package 1-1,” Sadain said.
Sadain expressed optimism that excavation works for the 2.3-kilometer soon-to-be first-ever long-distance mountain tunnel in the Philippines will be completed by December 2023.
To date, the contractors have excavated, sprayed concrete or “shotcrete”, and installed steel ribs support reinforcement and rock-bolts on the tunnel distance of 332 meters on the northbound; 247 meters southbound for the south portal; the north portal is at 292 meters on southbound; and 232 meters on northbound directions.
“We are fast-tracking the simultaneous construction of the road mountain tunnel in four areas of its north and south portals,” Sadain added.
According to Sadain, the tunnel construction works for the Davao City Bypass Construction Project started at the north portal on Nov. 19 for the southbound direction, while the northbound direction started last year.
Other than the tunnel, Sadain said the contract package 1-1 involves the construction of a four-lane road with a 7.9-kilometer length; three pairs of bridges that are 500 meters long, including the Davao River Bridge; two underpasses and two overpasses; 12 waterways culverts; and four at-grade intersections.
DPWH said the project is being funded under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) Loan between the Philippines and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under loan agreement numbers PH-P261 and PH-P273.
Once completed, the bypass road will shorten travel time between Toril, Davao City, and the northern Panabo City, Davao Del Norte, to 49 minutes or even less, from the usual two-hour travel via Maharlika Highway.