GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The city government is gearing up for the full implementation of its PHP451-million synchronized traffic signalization and city-wide closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera system project.
Engr. Emerald Signar, head of the City Engineer’s Office in a radio interview on Wednesday said the special bids and awards committee (BAC) commissioned for the project has already started the series of pre-procurement conference as part of the preparatory processes.
He said the pre-procurement conference is the venue for the BAC to scrutinize the requirements and other necessary attachments in the project proposals of the prospective suppliers or contractors.
These are based on the approved terms of reference (TOR) and performance specification of the project, he said.
“The budget for this had long been approved. It came from different sources and integrated into one supplemental budget,” he said.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera originally approved the project in 2018 but Signar said its implementation was delayed due to the crafting of the TOR and performance specification.
Based on the project specifications, he said 83 percent of it will be goods procurement while only 17 percent is civil works.
Signar said it will be a design-build process, with the winning supplier designing the system based on the TOR, which set an implementation period of 18 months.
He said the traffic signalization will cover at least 26 major intersections that were identified in a study conducted by the city’s traffic engineering unit as critical sections due to heavy vehicular traffic.
These include the intersections near a fast-food outlet in Barangay Calumpang and Lagao public market as well as portions of Dacera Avenue and Mabuhay Road.
The official said the winning supplier is mandated to upgrade the existing 11 traffic light systems in the city and synchronize them with the new units.
Under the project, he said over 200 CCTV cameras will also be installed in different locations in the city that will be connected by a fiber optic cabling system.
Signar said the local government opted to implement the project in full instead of phased basis to ensure the proper integration and synchronization of the systems.
He said other local government units that rolled out the project on phased basis faced problems with the fast-changing technologies and differences in the systems adopted by the winning suppliers.
“We want it implemented in full to ensure that it is synchronized and totally integrated. That’s the mayor’s marching order,” he said.
When completed, Signar said the project is expected to enhance traffic and law enforcement operations in the city since the CCTV cameras will have face recognition, face tamper recognition, color recognition and other features.
He said the CCTVs, based on the approved specification, will be able to see through tinted motor vehicles.
These will be useful in the identification of traffic violators through the “no contact” enforcement policy and on alerting the possible movements of criminal elements, he said.
He added that the CCTV cameras may also be used for the monitoring of disaster incidents and facilitate faster response by the local government. (PNA)
