Davao City pushes for reclamation project to include coastal road component
February 03, 2015 at 08:30am
Jose Froilan T. Rigor, Planning Division head of the City Planning and Development Office, said the reclamation project is expected to cause road congestion in the downtown area if no alternative road is constructed.
The city’s Traffic Code, as amended last year, requires property developers to include in their project plan an impact assessment on vehicular flows in the surrounding area.
The reclamation area will span the Sta. Ana Wharf beside Magsaysay Park to the Bucana area where the Davao River estuary is located.
“The traffic buildup within the area where the project (will be built) will be tremendous,” Mr. Rigor said in an interview.
A coastal road, parallel to the existing Magsaysay-Quimpo Boulevard, was put forward long ago but never went beyond the drawing board. More recently, another road project being planned as an alternative route between the east and western parts of the city is a bypass highway along the northern side.
Mr. Rigor said he made the coastal road recommendation after several companies expressed interest in the project even as one company, Mega Harbour Port Development Corp., has already been granted “original proponent” status by the city government.
Under Mega Harbour’s plan, about 200 hectares will be reclaimed, of which about 40 hectares will be allotted for development by the local government.
The planned P39-billion complex will include port and tourism facilities, commercial establishments and residential buildings.
The city council is due to review a proposed ordinance that will authorize the local government to pursue the project through a direct public-private partnership (PPP) scheme without needing approval from the national government.
Under existing investment regulation, the project will fall under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law of 1991 wherein national government approval is required through the National Economic and Development Authority.
The local government wants a more independent arrangement because previous proponents of other projects in the city under the BOT law have decided to shelve plans due to the long process of endorsement.
Davao City has an existing local PPP law patterned after the BOT law.
Source: bworldonline.com
« Davao employment at 95.4% as of October Davao del Sur to host National Rice Congress in March »
