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The Department of Public Works and Highways is proposing three big-ticket expressway projects: the 226.5-kilometer (km) Pacific Eastern Seaboard Expressway; 73.75-km Metro Cebu Expressway; and 60-km Davao-Digos Expressway
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A market sounding exercise was held virtually on November 23 to ascertain the private sector’s level of interest in undertaking the projects
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is proposing three big-ticket expressway projects to be undertaken in South and Central Luzon, Central Visayas, and Davao Region.
The projects are the 226.5-kilometer (km) Pacific Eastern Seaboard Expressway that will connect Quezon Province to Aurora Province; 73.75-km Metro Cebu Expressway that will connect Cebu’s Naga City and Danao City; and 60-km Davao-Digos Expressway that will link Davao City to Digos City.
To gauge the level of private sector interest over the projects, DPWH, in partnership with the Public-Private Partnership Center, had a virtual market sounding exercise on November 23 with contractors, financing institutions, and potential investors.
“We want to gather initial feedback from potential project sponsors, contractors/operators and financiers especially during this pandemic situation who are willing to help the government in making these high-impact projects into a reality,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said in a statement.
He added that the roads are vital in facilitating economic improvement not just in Luzon, but also in Visayas and Mindanao.
According to Villar, the meeting had as its aim to review details of the projects, determine the level of interest of the private sector in them, gather initial feedback from potential project sponsors, and identify potential risks in undertaking the projects.
The Pacific Eastern Seaboard Expressway is a proposed coastal highway that will start in Atimonan, Quezon; traverse Mauban, Real, and Infanta Quezon; and end in Dingalan, Aurora. It will serve as a shorter alternative route between Central and South Luzon that will bypass main thoroughfares especially in the busy Mega Manila.
The Metro Cebu Expressway project is intended to serve as another north-south backbone highway that will provide seamless traffic flow from Naga City up to Danao City. It will reduce travel time between the two cities from three hours to only one hour and 30 minutes.
Davao-Digos Expressway, on the other hand, will start from the Bukidnon-Davao National Highway in Davao City and end at Digos-Sultan Kudarat Road, traversing the towns of Toril and Santa Cruz in the process. It will serve as an alternative route to the Davao-Cotabato National Highway (AH26) and provide a safe and high-speed access to the North-South Mindanao Corridor.
