The proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge is not included in the list of priority projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Senator Cynthia Villar said in a press briefing on Thursday, April 29.
According to Villar, she personally asked his son, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, about the status of the proposed bridge that will connect the three islands in Western Visayas.
“I asked the DPWH and they said it’s not a priority of the [present] administration because the economic return is not as big as others,” Villar said a virtual press briefing.
“Iloilo is a progressive province but Guimaras is not. So they prefer other projects with big economic impact,” she added.
The 27.1-billion bridge project will be funded by Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korean Eximbank) after it was abandoned by the Chinese government.
Ilonggo Senator Franklin Drilon said construction of the bridge is likely to start in the next administration.
“I believe indi matigayon ang amo ni nga project sa idalom sang current administration and it will depend on the policies of the next administration kung favorable and feasibility study ang engineering study sang Korean Eximbank,” he told local reporters.
The project will be built in two phases – 14.3-kilometer Panay-Guimaras link and 5.7-kilometer Guimaras-Negros link.
The Iloilo-Guimaras bridge will start in Leganes, Iloilo and will end in Buenavista, Guimaras while the Guimaras-Negros bridge will start and end in San Lorenzo, Guimaras and Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, respectively.IMT
