Philippines’ longest mountain tunnel in Davao Bypass Road hits breakthrough

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are cooperating to mitigate traffic congestion in Davao City and improve connectivity in Mindanao through the construction of a bypass road.

The JICA-supported Davao City Bypass Construction Project involves the construction of a 29.7km, 4-lane road including bridges and two 2.3km tunnels, the first long distance mountain tunnel in the Philippines. In parallel, the Philippine Government is constructing the 15.8km portion of the said Bypass Road. In total, the Davao City Bypass Road is 45.5km long.

The Ceremonial Breakthrough of the Northbound Tunnel was held on April 28, 2025 in Barangay Waan, Davao City after the completion of the excavation from opposite ends into a single tunnel. The New Austrian Tunneling (NATM) method was applied for the excavation and plenty of Japanese technologies, know-how, and experience were utilized. Also, technology transfer from Japanese to the local staff was carried out, contributing to the local workers’ capacity development.

Present in the event from Philippine side were DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno. From Japan, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism NAKANO Hiromasa, Japan Ambassador ENDO Kazuya, and JICA Philippines Chief Representative BABA Takashi attended the event.

“Not only does this project build roads and tunnels, but it also develops capacity on tunnel operations and maintenance using Japan experience and expertise. The optimal combination of hard and soft support is what I proudly call JICA’s value addition contributing to comprehensive development and to achieve ‘Safe, Reliable and Comfortable Transport for a Better Tomorrow’”, said JICA Chief Representative BABA Takashi during the Tunnel Breakthrough Ceremony.

According to Tom Traffic Index 2024, Davao City ranked as the most congested metropolitan area in the Philippines. Completion of Davao City Bypass Construction Project will be the gamechanger of the development of future Davao and Mindanao. Currently, the travel time from Maharlika Highway’s Davao-Digos and Davao-Tagum sections will take around 1 hour and 44 minutes, but after the completion of the project, it is expected that the travel time will become just 49 minutes.

JICA has been working in various parts of Mindanao through various cooperation, including Metro Davao Urban Development Master Plan, Flood Control Master Plan in Davao, Wastewater Management Master Plan in Davao, Flood Risk Management for Cagayan de Oro, Central Mindanao High Standard Highway, Road Network Development in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao, and Capacity Development Project for Bangsamoro, among others.

The Ceremonial Breakthrough took place just a month after the 15^th Meeting of the Japan – Philippines High Level Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation. Said meeting also marked the steady progress in the Japan Philippines bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and infrastructure.