Villar boasts of 2 China-funded bridges, Ilocos-Bicol road network

The construction of two Pasig River bridges funded by China will start this year, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said Thursday, as he assured the “fast and clean” implementation of the government’s infrastructure projects.

At the same time, Villar presented several flagship projects to be implemented throughout President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term, including the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, which will connect 18 major highways.

“‘Pag natapos po itong network, you can go from Bicol to La Union in less than 12 hours,” he said.

As for the Chinese-funded bridges, Villar said the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila and the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting the cities of Mandaluyong and Makati are estimated to cost US$70 million to US$75 million.

“This is a fruit of the foreign policy. This is because of our friendship with China and a fruit of our foreign policy and the foreign trips of our President... We are targeting to start [these] by this year,” Villar said in a press briefing in Malacañang. 

The China-funded bridges are just two of the 12 bridges scheduled for construction across the Pasig River.

Villar said the government has allotted a total budget of P428.4 billion for the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2017 to help “reduce the poverty level” and “bring progress” not only in major cities but in provinces and far-flung areas as well.

“Rest assured that the golden age of infrastructure is very... it’s all systems go... [Members of] the economic team are all working together to ensure that the implementation of these projects are fast and clean,” Villar said.

“And this is the desire of the President to make sure that all these projects are implemented at the quickest possible time with no corruption,” the Cabinet official added. — MDM, GMA News