DPWH eyes P50-B road project

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) disclosed a plan to pursue a P50-billion road project that would connect Metro Manila to key provincial areas that ring the Laguna Lake.

The project was dubbed the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project, which would be studied with the support of a technical assistance loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Emil K. Sadain, DWPH undersecretary handling the unified project management office, said during a business forum last week the ADB loan for the feasibility study was approved last October and the loan agreement was signed Nov. 1 this year.

Moreover, the DPWH expects the submission of technical proposals for roads and bridges on Dec. 1, 2017.

According to the DPWH, the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network would span 90 kilometers and will link Bicutan in Taguig, Metro Manila, to Los Baños in Laguna and several towns in Rizal.

The project’s implementation period will start from 2018 through 2026, according to the DPWH.

The project appears to bear components of the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike public-private partnership (PPP) project, a P123-billion undertaking that was shelved last year after private sector bidders backed out.

The Laguna Lakeshore PPP was comprised of three major, separate projects. It had a massive flood control dike to protect communities along Laguna Lake and parts of Metro Manila, a 47-kilometer tollroad linking Taguig in Metro Manila to Los Baños, Laguna, and a 700-hectare land reclamation component on Laguna Lake.

Following its failure, the DPWH decided to review the project and pursue its components separately.

The three groups that qualified for the PPP and collectively did not submit bid offers were Team Trident comprised of Ayala Land Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and Megaworld Corp; San Miguel Corp., and the Alloy Pavi Hanshin LLEDP Consortium comprised of Malaysia’s MTD Group, South Korea’s Hanshin and the family of former Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.

They backed out due to the complex nature of the project alongside legal and political uncertainties—the bidding took place months before President Duterte assumed power in July 2016.

According to the DPWH’s website, the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike remained under study.

One of its crucial components was a proposed flood control dike. The component was designed to protect about 800,000 people in Laguna and parts of Metro Manila. The DPWH estimated that it would also save an average of P8.1 billion in flood-related damage every year.