BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
MANILA (November 16)—Renewable energy firm Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) through the Davao Light and Power Co. (Davao Light) has started the second phase of the Davao City government’s underground cabling project.
Davao Light Power Systems Design Department head Chad Ramos said the construction on two major thoroughfares in the Poblacion District — Claro M. Recto Avenue and San Pedro Street — has been completed. Davao Light is currently working on the Ramon Magsaysay Avenue phase, which leads to the famous Magsaysay Park.
“We thank the public for their continued support and understanding as we conduct our underground cabling activities. We purposely do the construction work at night to mitigate the possible heavy traffic in the area,” Ramos said.
He said the civil works at 23.5 percent complete, including the excavation and installation of conduits and manholes where the primary lines will go through.
Engineer Leo Remulta, project lead for this phase, said the project would take four to six weeks to construct traditional manholes, but prefabricated ones only take 48 hours to build.
“The prefabricated manhole is Davao Light’s innovation to minimize public inconvenience brought about by the implementation. It will also help save us cost and time,” Remulta added.
Abigail Tomas, AboitizPower assistant vice president for public relations, said Davao Light targets to complete civil and subsequent electrical works on the first section of the Ramon Magsaysay area during the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Citing City Ordinance 0152-17, which provides for the underground cabling plan of Davao City, Tomas said Davao Light and all telecommunication companies are mandated to convert overhead lines to an underground system.
She said the completion of the project hopes to make the city more attractive to investors and tourists, as only a few cities are implementing the underground cabling project in the Philippines.