Qu? v?dis, Metro Cebu (Part 2)

I wrote the first part of this topic back in January of 2001, right after the new year. More than two years have passed, and nothing really has changed much, and Metro Cebu is still in the same worrisome trajectory, only that we have gotten closer to an unwelcome paralysis. Even the promised development schedules of crucial projects remained uncertain. The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which was set to operate at the end of 2020, and which then was rescheduled to 2021, will again probably not meet the end-of-2023 start of operations. But that’s a two-kilometer stretch, which even barely has a sizable ridership at all.

Besides the Cebu BRT, what project of significant size and importance are we expecting? There seems to be nothing on the horizon. Gone were the days when we expectantly followed the news and development of multiple projects planned and implemented, slowly and surely, in accordance with a promised schedule. Many young people today do not even remember what Metro Cebu Development Project or MCDP means, much more, realize the extent of economic contribution the three phases mean. Ask anybody aged below 20 if they know what projects MCDP 1 and 2 comprised. They may be using many of the road links developed under these programs without realizing the tremendous value they brought about. Sadly, even the older ones --those who know about MCDP, also often forget.

The BRT may be the last one in the pipeline. If there are any other upcoming foreign-assisted projects, sure these would have been well-publicized already. But there’s none and the horizon seems bleak. Did the international financing institutions forget Cebu already? I don’t really believe so. I have been familiar with many of them, and I can assure you that there’s nothing that these IFI’s will do if only they can assist Metro Cebu. You see, while they want to help everybody, they also have an obligation to assure their principals that their precious assistance will be well-used and so they look for areas and cities where their money can get the most economic benefit possible. And everybody in the international Official Development Assistance (ODA) knows Cebu is a good recipient of any of their assistance --well worth any effort. But that all depends on good project preparation from the recipient communities.

MCDP --all the three phases (1, 2, and 3) were all monumental successes, and has contributed to make Metro Cebu what it is now. The South Reclamation Project or SRP, now called the South Road Properties (with the same initials) would be the prominent Exhibit A, followed only by the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR). Now the latter is becoming congested, much more so that signalized intersections are unceremoniously plugged to it. So the question is: What now, Metro Cebu? What’s next on the horizon that can give us an assurance of a better, more livable metropolis? Passing through the CSCR on peak hours gives us shudders seeing the level of congestion already reached. The BRT is in a glut with no hope in sight. It takes 3-5 years of project development before substantial funding can be secured, that is, if something is done about it. Qu? v?dis?