Cebu Provincial Engineer Hector Jamora and City of Naga Mayor Val Chiong confirmed on Friday that QM Builders was the main contractor of the 73.75-kilometer Metro Cebu Expressway (MCE) that will link Naga in the south to Danao City in the north.

In separate interviews with the DAILY TRIBUNE, Jamora and Chiong disclosed that the project was suspended and is in transition to Public Private Partnership (PPP).

MCE is divided into segments, and QM Builders and the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) started Segment 3A, which is from Naga to the Municipality of Minglanilla at 4.20 kilometers.

But residents of Barangays Pangdan and Cantao-an, Naga complained that the stalled project has been burdening them, especially during the rains.

Resident Laila Aliganga Heruela, a regular listener of DYLA radio, said "that project has been stalled as the landslides occur especially if it rains."

Based on the DPWH report for Segment 3A in Contract ID 18H00046, it was 100% completed on October 18, 2021, with a contract amount of P276,396,965.70.

Another P264,500,000 amount with 100% project completion on June 24, 2022 (Contract ID 19H00014).

While P193,000,000 with 100% completion on October 10, 2021.

Followed by another P130,911,000 with 100% completion on July 15, 2022 (Contract ID 20H00082).

P193,000,000 was again released with 100% completion on August 30, 2022 (Contract ID 21H00046).

P142,820,000 was paid on September 18, 2022, for the 100% completion of Contract ID 21H000.

Contract ID 22H00046 of P77,199,996.68 with 100% completion on April 29, 2023.

Another P77,197,417.12 amount was paid under Contract ID 22H00047 with 100% completion on April 29, 2023.

Contract ID 21H00088 had P144,750,000 amount with 100% completion without date.

According to the report, there are more projects ongoing with Contract ID 23H00016 amounting to P144,749,958.98 with 90% completion; Contract ID 23H00018 with P96,499,996.19 with 91.80% completion; and Contract ID 23H00017 at 76.43% completion with P133,169,997.84.

Based on the report, Segment 3A spent P1,874,195,332.51 at 97.13% completion.

The project status said: "ongoing revision on the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) and Estimated Budget for the Contract (EBC) for the Transaction Advisory Service of the Metro Cebu Expressway."

The other segments of the project: Segment 1 Minglanilla-Cebu City-Mandaue City-Consolacion (proposed for PPP) with 25.20 kilometers; Segment 2 Mandaue-Consolacion-Danao City with 23.36 kilometers (for future expansion, not yet included in submission to NEDA); and Segment 3B with 4.18 kilometers as the remaining portion proposed for PPP.

The MCE will improve and enhance Metro Cebu's seamless east-west, south-north urban inter-modal transport, economic tourism corridors to meet future transport demand.

This will link Metro Cebu's central, coastal, southern, and northern urban districts and economic development with a new upland high standard, high capacity bypass.

This will facilitate the movement of people and commerce from the Central Business Districts (CBDs), economic/export, and tourism zones along Metro Cebu from south City of Naga to North Danao City.

This will reduce travel time from Naga to Consolacion boundary from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes.

It will reduce travel time from Naga to Danao from 3 hours to 50 minutes.

The indicative project cost was pegged at P94.07 billion.

Civil works cost with six lanes at P61.48 billion; right-of-way cost at P20.81 billion; and detailed engineering design, construction supervision, independent consultant, project management, transaction advisors, physical contingency, and price contingency at P11.78 billion.