Chapter 4

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

4.0 INTRODUCTION

Infrastructure facilities are vital to economic development. It supports agricultural production, commerce and trade, tourism and delivery of health services in the region. Infrastructure is an essential requirement to economic, social and production activities as it provides accessibility, mobility and efficiency to business transactions, marketing of goods, delivery of agricultural inputs and basic social services.

As of 2005, a total of 17 major Official Development Assistance (ODA) funded programs/projects were implemented in Region with an aggregate cost of P5,619.757 million. During the year, 4 ODA programs/projects with 20 components/sub components were completed. Total cost of completed projects amounts to P1,788.065 million.

The completed ODA programs/projects are: a) Southern Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (SMICZMP) funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC); Agrarian Reform Communities Development Project (ARCDP) funded by World Bank (WB); Agrarian Reform Communities Project (ARCP) funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB); and Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) funded by World Bank.

Among the reported ODA-funded programs/projects implemented in Region XI, biggest fund source was provided by JBIC with 48.27 percent of the total ODA assistance followed by World Bank at 28.52 percent.

A total of 33 nationally-funded projects costing ten million pesos and above amounting to P952.022 million were also carried out in 2005. Out of the 33 projects, 20 projects were completed in 2005 with an aggregate cost of P402.193 million. About 50 percent of the nationally-funded projects costing P10 million and above were construction and improvement of national roads and bridges implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). These projects accounted for P474.5 million of the total investment.

The implementation of infrastructure projects in the region was generally carried out smoothly except for some projects that encountered delays and/or suspension due to the problem on the acquisition of right-of-way (ROW), lack of logistics, equipment, construction supplies, and delayed releases of funds, among other problems. The Surigao- Coastal Road, Mati-Manay Section incurred a negative slippage of 17.44 percent due to the inability of the contractor to adequately finance the daily operational requirements of the project’s implementation. The 6th ADB Road Project, Bridge Seismic Retrofitting Program (BSRP) was suspended pending the approval of the Variation Order by the DPWH while the expansion of Water District was temporarily suspended pending the resolution of the water rights problem on the identified water source. Only

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one case related to peace and order was reported and considered a cause of the delay in project implementation during the year.

4.1 TRANSPORTATION NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

4.1.1 Land Transport

4.1.1.1 Roads and Bridges

As of 2005, ’s total road network reached 14,567 kilometers attaining an increase of 3.1 percent over the 2004 level of 14,127.2 kilometers. Local roads comprised 89.9 percent while the rest were national roads. had the longest road network accounting for 25.8 percent of the region’s total while had the shortest with 13.1 percent (Table 4.1). The total length of bridges along the national roads spans 24,321.8 lineal meters. Concrete bridges accounted for 65.7 percent of the total length, steel bridges made up 18.7 percent, and bailey and timber bridges accounted for the remaining 15.5 percent.

Table 4.1. TOTAL ROAD NETWORK By Category, by Province/City, Davao Region, 2005 (in kilometers)

Category Province/City Total National Provincial City Municipal

Compostela Valley 260.58 778.28 0.00 206.55 1,720.99 2,966.40 Davao del Norte 94.43 727.65 0.00 169.81 920.84 1,912.73 Davao Oriental 419.73 491.68 0.00 101.87 1,347.25 2,360.53 Davao del Sur 300.40 350.20 0.00 255.10 2,851.46 3,757.16 259.86 0.00 641.49 0.00 884.20 1,785.55 City 23.33 68.85 68.56 0.00 124.84 285.58 IGACOS 24.82 0.00 217.30 0.00 166.24 408.36 City 32.71 0.00 179.42 0.00 514.50 726.63 City 47.64 0.00 151.43 0.00 165.02 364.12 Davao Region 1,463.50 2,416.66 1,258.23 733.33 8,695.34 14,567.06

Sources: Department of Public Works and Highways Local Government Units

As a result of the road construction, the region’s road density slightly increased from 0.73 kilometer per square kilometer of land area in 2004 to 0.76 kilometer in 2005. The pavement ratio for national roads was initially estimated at 58.8 percent. This is expected to increase to 63 percent with the completion of the various foreign-assisted and nationally-funded road projects.

The completion of the initial section of the opening of the - road increases the potential of the road’s influence of areas for agricultural production. The rehabilitation/improvement of -Tagum Road Section under the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway Rehabilitation Project funded by the JBIC which was started in 2004; the improvement of Surigao-Davao Oriental Coastal Road, Mati-Manay Section and the improvement of -Malita Section under the National Roads Improvement and Management Project (NRIMP-1), are expected to improve mobility and access in trade between Davao Region and Region and Davao Region and Region XII, respectively.

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Under the President’s Bridge Program (PBP), seven (7) steel bridges more were installed that replaced the old and dilapidated bailey and timber bridges. These were distributed as follows: Davao del Norte, 3 bridges; Davao del Sur, 1 bridge; Davao City, 2 bridges; and Compostela Valley, 1 bridge. The installation of these bridges provided access of rich agricultural production areas to the market centers.

4.1.1.2 Vehicle Registration

The total number of motor vehicles registered in Region XI in 2005 reached 189,621, indicating a 7.9 percent growth over the 2004 figure of 175,694. This growth, however, was way lower than the previous year’s growth rate of 16.8 percent. Registration renewals comprised 79.9 percent of the total registration.

New registration declined by 2.6 percent from the previous year’s figure of 39,138. Private vehicles accounted for 98.7 percent of the total. The newly registered vehicles “for hire,” likewise decreased from 144 in 2004 to 100 in 2005. The reduction of “for hire” vehicles could be attributed to the continuous increase in the prices of fuel and vehicle spare parts.

Around 57 percent (109,142) of motor vehicles registered were motorcycles while 35 percent (67,146) were cars and jeeps. Trucks/buses and trailers totaled 12,068 and 1,265, respectively.

Davao City recorded the highest number of registered vehicles, accounting for 47 percent (90,008) of the total. This figure was higher by 0.52 percent than the 2004 registration of 89,540. The region’s motor vehicle density was approximately 13 vehicles per kilometer of road, one vehicle higher than the 2004 figure of 12 vehicles per kilometer of road. The continuing Increase in motor vehicle density will eventually result to traffic congestion, as already experienced in major urban centers of the Region such as the cities of Davao, Tagum and Digos, if no additional routes will be opened.

4.1.1.3 Licensing

The total number of licenses issued in 2005 reached 150,045. This figure is 7.7 percent higher than the 2004 licenses issued of 139,214. Efficiency in processing of licenses through complete automation is the primary factor that encouraged prospective drivers to avail of licenses.

4.1.2 Sea Transport

Sasa Port in Davao City is the main base port in the region. It serves both domestic and foreign vessels and handles the bulk of passengers and cargo shipments in the region. Two other public ports that also handle domestic shipping operations are located in Malalag, Davao del Sur and Mati, Davao Oriental. However, operations in these ports are very minimal since they are rarely visited by ships due to inadequate and underdeveloped facilities.

The volume of cargoes handled for both domestic and foreign vessels at the Sasa Port increased from 7,818,298 million metric tons in 2004 to 8,084,716 million metric tons in 2005. The total passengers handled likewise increased from 2,180,682 in 2004 to

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2,986,246 in 2005. The increase in the number of sea transport passengers could be attributed to the continuous improvement of the port facilities which made the handling of services efficient. The prohibitive cost of air fare and the comparatively lower cargo handling costs favored the use of the sea transport, especially for low income earners.

Total ship calls at the Sasa Port during the year reached 27,893. Table 4.2 shows the shipping, cargo and passenger statistics in Region XI for CY 2004-2005.

Table 4.2. SHIPPING, CARGO AND PASSENGER STATISTICS Davao Region, 2004-2005

Particulars 2004 2005

Shipcalls 26,563 27,893 Domestic 25,010 26,196 Foreign 1,553 1,697 Cargo Throughput (MT) 7,818,298 8,084,716 Domestic 3,595,882 3,556,808 Foreign 4,222,416 4,527,908 Transit Cargo - - Passenger Traffic 2,180,682 2,986,246 Disembarking 1,090,621 2,000,266 Embarking 1,090,061 985,980

Source: Phil. Ports Authority

4.1.3 Air Transport

Davao Region has one international airport located in Davao City and one secondary domestic airport situated in Mati, Davao Oriental. The Mati Airport, however, is not operational.

The total number of passengers served by the Davao International Airport reached 1,160,087 in 2005. Passenger arrivals increased by 1.46 percent from 567,793 in 2004 to 576,083 in 2005. The number of flights, however, decreased by 20.8 percent as well as the volume of cargoes handled by 4.5 percent. The decrease in the frequency of flights was an alternative measure adopted by airline companies to maximize their operations because of high fuel cost. The reduction in the volume of cargoes was attributed to high shipment cost of goods exported to other parts of the country and abroad.

4.2 IMPROVEMENT IN COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES

As of 2005, telephone companies operating in the region installed a total of 139,805 telephone land lines in the region. This number represents a decrease of 8 percent compared to the 2004 level capacity of 151,982 lines installed. The region’s telephone density is estimated to be 1 line for every 5 households. The subscription level was due to the massive promotion of affordable phone products and services of mobile phone companies. Davao City accounted for 54 percent of the total telephone lines installed in the region.

Areas not served and underserved by telephone companies rely on the services provided by the private telegraph companies and Telecommunications Office (TELOF). A total of 37 telegraph stations are still operating throughout the region as of 2005.

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The region also has Cellular Mobile Telephone System (CMTS) services that provide a wide array of features and uses of mobile phones that make them attractive and popular to the users. The subscribed number of CMTS and cell sites installed in the region, however, cannot be ascertained.

A total of 129 Public Calling Offices (PCOs) owned by government and private companies are also operating in the region but this is 29 PCOs less than the number operating in the region in 2004. The closure of these PCOs was primarily due to the presence of cellular mobile phone services in remote areas.

The postal service requirements of the region were provided by 60 post offices. There was a decrease of 2.4 percent in the volume of mails handled from 10,470,281 in 2004 to 10,211,599 in 2005. The decrease was attributed to the use of electronic mails and text messaging. As of 2005, a total of 13 internet service providers (ISPs) operated in the region with a recorded number of 4,669 subscribers. The number of letter carriers has likewise declined over the years since the positions vacated by the employees who have retired from the service were not filled up due to none hiring policy of the government. In 2005, only 173 letter carriers remained at post from 264 in 2000.

4.3 WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

4.3.1 Potable Water Supply

As of 2005, approximately 75 percent of the total household population of the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte had access to potable water. Davao del Norte (including its 3 component cities) had the largest proportion of population served with potable water at 82 percent. Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur had 61.7 percent and 74.2 percent, respectively.

Davao Region had 17 operational Water Districts with a total of 196,622 service connections. Of the total connections, 188,531 or 95.8 percent were classified as domestic or household connections while the remaining 8,091 were categorized as commercial. A total of 11,636 new service connections were added in 2005 achieving an increase of 6.3 percent over the 2004 level of 184,986 service connections. The total population served by these facilities in 2005 was estimated at 1,179,732.

Among the cities of the region served by water districts, Davao City had the largest network servicing 153,663 connections with Tagum City next with 15,472 connections. In 2005, two expansion projects were completed covering the water districts of the Island Garden City of Samal and , Davao Oriental. The rehabilitation of the Malalag Waterworks System was also completed during the year under the Southern Mindanao Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (SMICZMP) funded by JBIC.

4.3.2 Irrigation

As of 2005, Davao Region had an estimated 100,562 hectares of irrigable area but only 45,780 hectares were served by irrigation facilities. National irrigation systems covered 29,615 hectares or 64.6 percent of the total while communal irrigation systems irrigated 16,165 hectares. Irrigation facilities run by other government agencies and the

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private sector comprised a total of 2,215 hectares. The region had 9 national irrigation systems and 83 communal irrigation systems.

The region’s average yield per hectare of palay in areas served by irrigation facilities during the period was 3.9 metric tons. On the other hand, the average yield per hectare in areas served by the national irrigation systems during wet season was 4.3 metric tons, while the output of the communal irrigation system was 3.7 cavans.

4.4 ENERGY/POWER GENERATION

As of mid-year 2005, the number of barangays energized in the region reached 1,123 resulting to an energization rate of 96.98 percent. All barangays of Davao del Norte, Tagum City and Island Garden City of Samal were fully energized. Energization rate was lowest among barangays in Davao del Sur at 92 percent.

In the same period, 97 percent of the households in Tagum City and 95 percent of the households in Davao City were served with electricity. The lowest household energization was recorded in IGACOS at 34.54 percent. The household energization rates in the region’s other provinces and cities were as follows: Davao del Norte, 60.61 percent; Davao Oriental, 58.6 percent; Davao del Sur, 72.4 percent; Compostela Valley, 49.28 percent.

Among the provinces and cities, the highest increase in household energization rate was recorded in Davao Oriental from 49.25 percent energization rate in 2004 to 58.6 percent in 2005, indicating a total of 7,545 new household connections during the period.

In 2005, the average cost of electricity charged to Davao Region consumers was P4.23 per kilowatt-hour (kwh). All electric cooperatives operating in the region imposed a rate increase during the year. Consumers served by Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) paid the highest rate at P4.65 per Kwh while those served by the Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative enjoyed the lowest average rate at P4.24 per kwh.

4.6 CONCLUSION

The implementation of infrastructure projects in the region provided some of the basic requirements for socioeconomic development. However, implementation performance could be further enhanced by increasing the level of efficiency of the implementing agencies in project management and control of project operations, especially for foreign-assisted projects. The Surigao-Davao Oriental Coastal Road, Mati- Manay Section under the National Roads Improvement and Management Project (NRIMP-1) is one such project that suffered implementation setbacks due to financial liquidity problem.

Acquisition of Right-of-Way (ROW) is still a pressing concern in the implementation of infrastructure projects. Lack of readily available funds and slow processing of payments are the major causes of the delay in the acquisition of ROW. The compliance of the contractors in the implementation of environmental mitigating measures required in foreign-assisted projects, however, has improved over the years and become an integral component of the project’s operation. The creation of the Multi-Partite Monitoring Team (MMT) for each foreign-assisted project also ensured that the mitigating measures as

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required in the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) have been complied with by the contractors.

The Infrastructure Monitoring and Advisory Groups (IMAGs), which are tasked to coordinate, monitor and assist the implementing agencies in foreign-assisted infrastructure projects was found to be an effective mechanism that facilitate completion of projects. Given the success of the IMAGs activities in the region, this mechanism could also be applied in major nationally-funded infrastructure projects and foreign-assisted non- infrastructure projects.

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