Jica recommends 5 projects to address traffic

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has identified five priority projects to address the worsening traffic situation in Metro Cebu.

It recommended the immediate implementation of the Cebu-Mactan 4th Bridge, the Mandaue Coastal Road, the Cebu Circumferential Road, the Urban Mass Rapid Transport (UMRT) Central Line and the UMRT Coastal Line.

In a meeting last Friday, March 8, the Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) of the Regional Development Council 7 endorsed the agency’s recommendations and final report.

IDC 7 chairman Glenn Soco said the feasibility studies on these projects were undertaken by Jica.

Soco said funding for these projects might be included in the annual General Appropriations Act or it could come from the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). The projects could also be implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Or it might also be a combination of both ODA and PPP, depending on what the Philippines and Japan agree on, he added.

Soco said the Cebu-Mactan 4th Bridge will connect Tayud, Consolacion to Pusok, LapuLapu City. A coastal road was chosen to avoid demolishing informal structures inland, he said, while the circumferential road and the two UMRT projects will traverse Mandaue City, Consolacion and Liloan.

“All these five projects will complement the coming Cebu International Container Port,” Soco said.

The port will be built on 25 hectares of reclaimed land in Consolacion.

Meanwhile, the IDC 7 created a Technical Working Group (TWG), which is composed of representatives from the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and concerned local government units.

Soco said the TWG will review and come up with recommendations on the plans, activities and programs of the DPWH, the National Irrigation Administration, the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The TWG is set to convene on Thursday, March 14. The RDC Full Council Meeting will be on March 22.