Shimizu – Ulticon – Takenaka Joint Venture Group’s Undertaking of the Davao City Bypass Construction Project

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Shimizu Ulticon Takenaka Joint Venture
Groups Undertaking of the Davao City Bypass
Construction Project
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Ulticon Builders Incorporated, a Quadruple A
licensed Contractor company with the firm
leadership of its President and Founder Mr.
Carlos Charlie Gonzalez of Davao City,
Philippines, whose projects are managed by UBIs
Authorized Management Officer (AMO) Carlos Miguel
Gonzalez of Davao, is part of a new significant
milestone construction project happening here in
Mindanao. The great exciting news is that the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
has finally granted the civil works contract
agreement for the first execution of the
Japan-funded Davao City Bypass Construction
Project (DCBCP) to a Japanese construction
institution.
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The initial contract agreement between DPWH and
the contractor was approved by Secretary Villar
and signed on Thursday, October 29, 2020, with
Mr. Gil P. Manuel of Ulticon, DPWH Undersecretary
for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO)
Operations Technical Services Emil K. Sadain,
Project Director Virgilio C. Castillo of DPWH
UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1, Mr. Makoto Fuji
of Shimizu-Takenaka joint venture.
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Furthermore, in the official signing of the
contract, it was virtually attended by the
Embassy of Japan to the Philippines Second
Secretary Tomohiro Matsubara, Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) Philippines Chief
Representative Eigo Azukizawa, JICA Philippines
Senior Representative Kiyo Kawabuchi, and Japan
embassy officials. According to Undersecretary
Emil K. Sadain, The entire bypass road with a
total length of 45.5 kilometers is divided into
six (6) packages package I-1 (10.7 km), package
I-2 (12.8 km), package I-3 (6.1 km), package II-1
(2.7 km), package II-2 (3.5 km), and package II-3
(9.7 km).
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And he added, considered the most significant
component of the project included in the awarded
contract package is the 2.3-kilometer mountain
tunnel that will run through the mountainous
barangay to shorten the drive from the
Davao-Digos Intersection of the Pan-Philippine
Highway in Toril, Davao City towards the
intersection of the Davao-Agusan National Highway
in Panabo City.
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It is expected that Japanese technology such as
excavation techniques for tunnel construction
will be applied and our Filipino engineers and
skilled workers may take advantage of acquiring
technical knowledge and expertise in the building
of the tunnel that will be the longest in the
country once completed, Davao City Bypass
Construction Project will be funded by the
Japanese Official Development Assistance signed
last June providing the Government of the
Philippines with a Special Terms for Economic
Partnership (STEP) Loan from JICA under Loan
Agreement Nos. PH-P261 and PH-P273. Under the
STEP loan that will promote the transfer of
outstanding Japanese technology and expertise,
the main contract is Japan tied but allows a
joint venture in addition to the Japanese company.
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 By constructing a bypass road, this will be a
driving force for economic growth in the entire
Mindanao by connecting the port area to the
southern end of the Davao City while avoiding the
city center. As for Ulticon, it is a great
privilege and honor to be part of this
huge-huge-huge joint venture project happening
here in Mindanao, and our whole nation benefits
from the build-build-build program of the Duterte
administration. Not to mention, it will be a
tangible leap of faith to help our economy and a
big step to better the lives of our Filipino
people.