Construction has commenced on the Philippines’ first long-distance mountain tunnel located in Davao City. The Government of Japan is funding the 2.3 km twin tunnels project of the Davao City Bypass Road through its official development assistance (ODA) programme, with Special Terms for Economic Partnership Loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The project’s tunnelling activity will employ specialised equipment such as a drill jumbo, concrete spraying machine, and articulated dump hauler, all of which will work simultaneously at the north and south portals to construct the two tunnels, each measuring eight metres in height and ten metres in width.
The twin tunnels are part of the 45.5 km Davao City Bypass Construction Project in Southern Mindanao, which will stretch from Barangay Sirawan in Toril, Davao City, to Barangay J.P. Laurel in Panabo City. Once completed, the tunnels are expected to reduce travel times on the Pan-Philippine Highway from over two hours to just 49 minutes.