Last-minute infrastructure requirements for a successful hosting by the Philippines of the 30th edition of Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next month are being fasttracked.
The Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) yesterday said it is on track to complete the construction of the P260.8-million interchange with road access to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Bocaue, Bulacan by next month. The project will provide direct access to the Philippine Arena as huge turnout of visitors are expected at the opening ceremony of the biennial regional multi-sport event on November 30.
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it is ready to provide 100 percent power connection to New Clark City (NCC) in Tarlac, venue for most of the games, but that last-mile interconnection issues from its line to the users have yet to be done by the developer and the building owners.
Mark Villar, DPWH secretary, said all girders for the 80 lineal meters overpass bridge crossing NLEX of the Bocaue interchange have been completely installed.
Villar reported the round-the-clock construction the of the 1.12 kilometer four-lane bypass road connecting the Manila North Road and the Sta. Maria to Bocaue By-pass Road as part of the Ciudad De Victoria Interchange Project Phase 1.
The Ciudad De Victoria interchange overpass bridge is an alternate road to the heavily congested Governor F. Halili road in Sta. Maria, Bulacan. This will also address the usual heavy traffic situation and queuing of vehicles entering the Bocaue interchange.
To increase capacity to two-lane per direction and help alleviate traffic congestion on Governor F. Halili, the construction of additional lanes of the bridge structure at Bocaue Interchange is also ongoing.
Meanwhile, Rogelio Singson, Meralco senior vice president, said building owners at NCC will have to provide the engineering blueprints to ensure the power connections are based on specifications provided by Shin Clark Power, the consortium of Meralco and Japanese firms Marubeni Corp., Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc.
Shin Clark was selected by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority to be the power distributor of NCC.
Singson said the initial phase will still use overhead distribution lines to quickly serve the power requirements of SEA Games.