WB to fund two projects in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - The World Bank Group approved to fund two projects in Cebu City amounting to USD700,000.

The two projects – one for an improved urban transportation planning and management and the other for a sustainable urban energy development – would complement the ongoing development of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, according to WB.

About USD500,000 to USD600,000 will be allotted to the Mobile Vehicle Probes Demonstration for Urban Transport Planning and Management. This project will use “pre-programmed smart phones as probes to collect data on traffic conditions.”

“By deploying inexpensive vehicle mobile probes in taxis, public transport, and government-owned vehicles, and by utilizing software based on the open-source mapping platform, such as GoogleMaps, the Project Team believes that traffic planners can achieve an exponentially more accurate picture of congestion and fuel efficiency with only a fraction of the resources,” reads the project’s concept note.

“Further, the Team believes that by leveraging these technologies, planners can visualize congestion patterns by space and by time (including during special events and unpredictable weather conditions), identify key trip generators, and derive estimates of traffic volumes and traffic flows on key corridors and use this information to develop more informed traffic management and investment planning,” it further reads.

An initial 500 vehicles will be used in the pilot project.

The up-front equipment will cost USD99 to USD200 per vehicle. The cost for the ongoing monitoring will ranger between USD79 per vehicle but it may vary depending on type of network to be used either GPS, cellular or wi-fi. A year of continuous monitoring will cost about USD200,000.

Training, reporting, and special adjustments to the software packages for use by planning officials will cost USD100,000 to USD 200,000 and another USD100,000 would be allocated for the small-scale mitigation pilot.

WB said Cebu was initially selected because of its on-going technical assistance program for the development of a BRT demonstration corridor here that would significantly benefit from the use of these technologies.

WB also found that congestion in Cebu is “particularly acute”, with 10 kph average traffic speed along major arterials.

The said traffic speed reportedly indicates a severe congestion for most times of the day.

WB also chose Cebu City because it has a population of 800,000 which makes it small enough for their desired sample size.

When the project turns a success, WB will work with the Department of Transportation and Communications to facilitate its replication in other key cities in the country.

About USD100,000, meanwhile, will be allotted to the Sustainable Urban Energy Development in the East Asia and Pacific Region program that aims to help the city begin formulating long term sustainable urban energy development strategies. (FREEMAN)