The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) made an announcement earlier this month regarding the auctioning of a P122.8B-worth Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project. DPWH welcomes bids from local or foreign investors who are interested to take part in the Aquino Government’s biggest infrastructure project.
The bidding process has two stages. A pre-qualifying stage scheduled for October requires interested parties to meet legal, technical and financial requirements. After the preliminary stage, qualified entities will bid for the project in December. The winning contractor will start work on the project in April 2015, where it is envisaged to become fully operational in seven years.
The Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike plan is composed of two complementary projects. Half of it is the construction of a 47-kilometre long dike near the western shore of Laguna Lake. It would then be topped by a six-lane freeway that would serve as an alternative route for vehicles, primarily trucks and buses, who usually use the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) during travel peak periods.
The enormous project aims to address arising challenges due the country’s economic upsurge through improving the status of infrastructure and logistics in the South Luzon area, a major area which bridges Manila to the Visayas and Mindanao regions, where substantial amounts of goods are transported from.
