MCSC embankment works set to be completed this year

CEBU, Philippines — The Mandaue City Sports Center (MCSC) is now on the final stage of its embankment phase, with completion expected by the end of this year, according to City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan.

To recall, the Mandaue City Government, formerly headed by dismissed mayor Jonas Cortes, broke ground on the sports facility project last March 21, 2022.

The City wanted for the facility to become a world-class sports destination, which will be built on a 36,177 square-meter lot at the City’s Planned Unit Development-2 (PUD-2) in Barangay Paknaan.

Calipayan, in an interview with reporters on Friday, Feb. 28, explained that since the area where the sports center is being built is a reclaimed land, the plan required additional reinforcement to prevent the track from warping.

He said that since the City Government considered the oval a long-term investment, they were aware that the land needed to be properly stabilized when they first decided to build the oval in the area.

Calipayan said that a consultant had advised them to further stabilize the land due to rising sea levels, as the area is near the coast, and to implement several engineering interventions.

He said that the entire area where the sports center will be placed was once a foreshore, which is why they made sure to properly stabilize the land to prevent any future impact on the construction of the oval. He also noted that the reclaimed land is still subsiding.

With this, a perimeter fence and soil-filling were first done on the area. After each session, a test was made before moving on to the next section of the project.

Currently, four layers of soil have been placed on the area where the sports center will be built.

The City Administrator said that when they started planning the sports center in 2015, the consultant advised them to add a certain number of meters of soil during the backfilling process.

However, in 2018, due to a study on rising sea levels, the consultant recommended adding an additional 2 meters of soil.

Calipayan said that they followed this advice to ensure that, 20 to 30 years after its completion, the sports center would not be damaged.

He said that the City Government have been carefully and gradually building the foundation of the land because it is making a significant investment, which includes an Olympic-sized track and field oval, Olympic-sized swimming pool, high capacity grandstand, basketball courts and tennis courts, soccer or football field, parking areas, and offices.

Calipayan said it's better to do it slowly, even if the process takes time, since the infrastructure project will cost hundreds of millions of pesos. He emphasized that rushing it could lead to the project being damaged in the long run.

“Karon malipay ta kay makita nato pero later on tungod kay wala nato gilig-on ang foundation maguba siya kay mulihok ang yuta or unsa ba,” Calipayan said.

Calipayan said the City Engineering Team is also proactively monitoring the soil filling every week, as well as conducting soil testing, as part of the engineering interventions in the reclamation area.

After this intervention, Calipayan said that the oval will not be constructed immediately.

Instead, they can begin laying down the components for the sports center, such as the drainage system, road network, and septic tank.

“Again, atong buhaton ani is dili ta muderetso og butang og oval butangan sa nato sa iyahang mga facilities,” said Calipayan.

He said that since there is already a master plan, the contractor knew exactly where to place the stadium, swimming pool, courts, and other features to be included in the sports center.

He said that the next stage, once the embankment phase is completed this year, is to install the drainage system, road network, and septic tank as part of the infrastructure development.

As of now, Calipayan said the contractor is still completing and finalizing the embankment works.

He added that the embankment phase will be completed this year, while the next phase is expected to begin in 2026. — JG (FREEMAN)