The implementation of the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Link Bridge will start “sooner than later,” according to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar.
The proposed link bridge connecting the three islands in Western Visayas is among the twelve big-ticket infrastructure and transportion projects approved by the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The approval was announced by Vivencio Dizon, president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, on Friday, Dec. 20.
“We fast-track all these projects before the end of the year, so that next year we can focus purely on the detail engineering and procurement of these big-ticket projects,” said Villar.
The link bridge 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.
According to the DPWH, the link bridge will be financed by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from China.
Villar said they are waiting for President Rodrigo Duterte’s nod to the 12 NEDA joint panel-approved projects worth a total of P626.11 billion.IMT
