A construction company will
introduce to the incoming administration the building of “instant flyovers”
aimed at addressing worsening traffic problems in Metro Manila, the National
Capital Region (NCR).
Jorge Consunji, president and chief
operating officer of DM Consunji Inc., the construction arm of conglomerate
DMCI Holdings Inc., in a briefing on Wednesday, said members of the Philippine
Constructors Association (PCA) are confident that the next President would be
interested in solving Metro Manila’s traffic woes.
“On behalf of the PCA, we are to
introduce a new technology that aims to provide a solution to the worsening
traffic conditions in the country, especially in Metro Manila. We want to
introduce instant flyovers, in lieu of the conventional flyovers,” the former
president of PCA, said.
Consunji noted that although the
“instant flyover” is more expensive compared with the conventional one, the
former is deemed to be more cost- efficient in terms of construction time and
labor.
He said the conventional flyover requires
more materials and more time to build and is more labor-intensive.
“Our association would like to
propose this new technology. Although it is more expensive versus the
construction of conventional flyovers, this technology promises to improve the traffic
conditions in Metro Manila,” Consunji added.
A conventional flyover takes about
18 months to complete if right-of-way issues are resolved, is highly reliant on
the quality of soil and is dependent on weather conditions.
An instant flyover could reduce the
risk of delay since it will make use of pre-fabricated materials.
It costs about P1 billion to P1.2
billion per kilometer, Consunji said.
The Arroyo administration purchased
prefabricated flyovers that were meant to be put up in areas in Metro Manila
where traffic was heavy but were set aside and not utilized by the Aquino
administration.
