Body not sleeping on highway project

CEBU, Philippines - After Cebu Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. said his Trans-Axial Highway project is “as good as dead” due to inaction of the Cebu Economic Enterprise Council, Capitol consultant on information Rory Jon Sepulveda said they are not sleeping on the project.

Sanchez laid the blame on the “slow response” of the EEC which was supposed to review the feasibility study on the project.

Sepulveda said a “million questions need to be answered” regarding the project and said that what the vice governor submitted to the EEC was just a pre-feasibility study and not a feasibility study. 

“We are not sleeping, wala ni gipasagdan but we are closely scrutinizing.It was already reviewed by our legal and engineering team,” Sepulveda said.

The planned Trans-Axial Highway involves the construction of a 300-kilometer, four-lane highway running through the middle of the island of Cebu, connecting Daanbantayan in the north to Santander in the south.

It was also envisioned to host new economic zones along its entire length bringing economic activity into Cebu’s interior.

Sepulveda, however, said that one of the council’s undertakings right now is determining the classifications of the 760 hectares of lots for the road right of way.

“Ang priority mao, do we really have to spend so much millions kung motuman lang ta sa road right of way?  The project will always be a priority project but we would like to know kung pila,” Sepulveda added.

Provincial engineer Eulogio Pelayre said they are conducting land classification of the proposed highway and most of the properties are classified under timberland.

Pelayre said the projects presented is not that easy because they need to coordinate with the national government as well.

“Dili mana pwede nga magpadala ta og bulldozer unya busloton dayon nato ang dalan. Kinahanglan i-identify una,” Pelayre said.

Provincial Planning and Development officer Adolfo Quiroga denied that Sanchez was not invited to attend any meetings of the ECC.

Quiroga is the secretary of the EEC while Sanchez is the vice-chairman.

The Provincial Board did approve the ordinance establishing the Cebu Trans-Axial Development Project and its components.

The ordinance also authorized Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to negotiate, enter into and sign contracts and agreements as well as to negotiate and/or expropriate properties pertaining to the establishments of the project.

The project will be built with four economic zones and is supposed to be bid out to foreign investors on a Build-Transfer-Operate scheme.

But the public bidding cannot start until the EEC will evaluate and endorse the highway project.

“We still need answers. What was submitted in our analysis is not yet ready for bidding,” Sepulveda said. —Garry B. Lao/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)