CDO underground cable system in the works

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY--The Task Force on Information Communication Technology (ICT) here has been given the green light to initiate the “Project Velez,” an initiative that aims to replace the current aerial cable system into an underground system.

The project will consist of three phases and will initially implement the underground cable system in the city's three main thoroughfares--Velez and Corrales streets, and CM Recto Avenue, a national road, said Engr. Teodoro Buenavita Jr., regional director of National Telecommunications Commission in Region 10 (NTC-10).

Buenavista, one of the task force’s convenor, said a conference on August 31 is expected to iron out the specific target dates and other preparations for the relocation of the current electric wires and network cables.

He said an existing underground cable system owned by Misortel, a telephony service provider owned by the provincial government of Misamis Oriental, will be tapped for the initial phase of the project.

He said the Misortel facility was constructed in the early as 2000  in partnership with South Korea investors, and has been underutilized since.

“Actually, there is an existing underground facility with a win-win solution for Misortel. Cable owners will now be renting the facilities. So (this will be) a potential source of revenue of Misortel,” he said. “We checked the manholes and it’s still in good condition,” the NTC-10 chief added.

With the Misortel facility, he said there was no longer a need to do extensive excavations for the meantime as it only requires the transfer of the existing wires hanging on the posts directly beneath Misortel facility.

Flood-prone areas such as in CM Rect can be resolved through an “engineering design,” he said. (PNA)