DPWH: Gov’t eyeing to secure ADB loan for Bataan-Cavite interlink project

The Philippine government is eyeing to secure loan financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to bankroll the P175 billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge by November this year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Thursday.

In a statement, the DPWH said it concluded its two-week discussions with the ADB’s Fact-Finding Mission "with the aim of obtaining loan approval for the project by November."

The meetings were conducted from June 16 to July 5.

The DPWH said the discussions focused on appraising overall project readiness prior to the preparation of loan agreement for the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite bridge project.

The ADB earlier said it is targeting to approve the loan for the project in the third quarter of 2023.

The Manila-based multilateral lender is co-financing the project with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The first tranche of the loan facility at $1 billion will be divided among ADB (at $650 million) and AIIB (at $350 million).

Construction of the Bataan-Cavite bridge is targeted to start by 2024, according to the DPWH.

The project will be divided into seven contract packages with the construction to begin first in the two on-land packages. Package 1 is the five-kilometer Bataan Land Approach and Package 2 is the 1.35-kilometer Cavite Land Approach.

Packages 3 and 4 are Marine Viaducts in the North and South with a total length of 20.65 kilometers.

Meanwhile, Packages 5 and 6 are the North Channel and South Channel Bridges with a length of 2.15 and 3.15 kilometers, respectively.

The 7th package involves project-wide ancillary works.

The 32.15-kilometer, four-lane inter-island bridge will connect Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, and Barangay Timalan Concepcion in Naic, Cavite.

The bridge will have two navigational bridges, the 400-meter North Channel Bridge and the 900-meter South Channel Bridge, that are expected to traverse Corregidor Island.

About 80% of the structure will be over the sea.

The bridge is also seen to decongest traffic in Metro Manila, help reduce prices of goods and services as transport and logistics costs would be decreased, and create economic opportunities in Bataan and Cavite as well as their adjacent provinces.

Once this bridge is completed, the DPWH said travel time between the provinces of Bataan and Cavite will be reduced from the current five-and-a-half hours to about 45 minutes.  —VAL, GMA Integrated News