The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday said it targets the partial operation of the Davao Public Transport Modernization Program in Davao City by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista signed four civil works contracts for the construction of depots, terminals, bus stops, bus lanes, pedestrian lanes, and a driving school in implementing the DPTMP.
The DPTMP contract packages 1, 2, 3 and 4 include the design and construction of the Calinan Depot, Buhangin Depot, and Driving School; the design and construction of the Toril Depot, the Toril Intermodal Terminal, Bunawan Terminal, and Calinan Terminal; civil works along bus routes including bus stops, bus lanes and other pedestrian improvement works; and the design and build contract for Sasa and the Sto. Niño Depot.
Worth P73.4 billion, the DPTMP will likewise complement the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) with the use of PUVMP-compliant buses. It will also use 386 electric buses, 531 regular and 188 mini-buses.
“We begin today the metamorphosis of public transport in the whole of Mindanao starting here in Davao City,” Bautista said of the projects serving as benchmark for other urban road projects aiming to transform public transport.
Tagged as a “game changing project,” President Marcos Jr. said the DPTMP will move commuters efficiently and spur economic growth in Davao City and its adjacent areas.
The bus-based transportation system will have a core service lane connecting major commercial centers, nine feeder routes, eight routes to inner urban areas and links between outer rural areas and terminals in Davao City, Panabo City, and Davao del Norte.
Inspired by the EDSA Busway in Manila, the DPTMP is a similar rapid transit system separated from normal road traffic in most of its stretches by concrete barriers on the innermost lane.
Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the 672-kilometer DPTMP will create a network of efficient PUV operations across Metro Davao and nearby communities.
