The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has partnered with Japanese experts to improve the Philippines’ disaster risk reduction countermeasures through coastal engineering.
Emil Sadain, DPWH senior undersecretary, led on Tuesday the first joint coordinating committee (JCC) meeting for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted technical cooperation project for capacity development in coastal engineering for disaster resiliency.
The project work plan was presented by the JICA project team to the JCC and technical working group. The project was created through DPWH’s Special Order No. 152 issued last month.
The five-year technical cooperation project will come up with a human resource development plan to strengthen DPWH’s capacity and knowhow in building disaster-proof structures along coastal areas in the Philippines.
Japanese experts on coastal engineering will share their experiences and train DPWH personnel on planning and designing structures in coastal areas and studying how existing laws and policies can be improved to bridge the gap in disaster management, Sadain said in a statement.
The JCC meeting has been an effective platform for exchange of information, ideas, opinions and experiences in coastal management as well as in reaching consensus on the planned approach toward achieving the objectives of the project, DPWH said.
The project team also discussed coastal issues such as erosion, flooding and damage in coastal infrastructures in selected sites in Luzon and Visayas, based on their recent surveys and site visits.
Ramon Arriola, DPWH project director, hopes that theparties will continue to support the project through active participation in future meetings and sharing of coastal-related data.
Currently, the Japanese government, through JICA, supports 13 DPWH big-ticket infrastructure projects, such as the widening of the 23-kilometer Arterial Road (Plaridel) Bypass project phase 3; 1,184-km arterial national roads under the Road Upgrading and Preservation project; the 30-km Central Luzon Link Expressway and the 45.5-km Davao City Bypass construction project.
JICA also supports the 19-km Marawi Transcentral Road phase 1; construction of the P76.4-billion Cebu-Mactan fourth bridge; construction of interchanges on major intersections in Quezon City under the Metro Manila interchange construction project phase VI; and the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement project to strengthen the resiliency of Metro Manila’stransport network by improving the durability and safety of Guadalupe and Lambingan bridges against large-scale earthquake, among others.
