PH, ADB sign loan deal for first tranche financing of Bataan-Cavite bridge

The Philippine government and Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday signed a loan agreement for the first tranche financing to bankroll the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge project, which is envisioned to be one of the world’s longest marine bridges.

The loan agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno on behalf of the Philippine government and ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City, the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement.

The first tranche of loan financing amounts to $650 million or around P36.22 billion.

On Tuesday, the ADB approved financing of up to $2.1 billion, under a multi-tranche scheme, for the construction of the 32.15-kilometer bridge that would connect the provinces of Bataan and Cavite across Manila Bay.

The DOF said the succeeding tranches, under the multi-tranche financing scheme, shall be availed of in the duration of the project, “subject to securing relevant government approvals for each subsequent loan tranche.”

The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge project is one of the Marcos administration’s flagship infrastructure projects.

The project is estimated to cost $3.91 billion.

Of the said amount, $2.1 billion or about P118.32 billion will be financed by the ADB while $1.14 billion or around P63.71 billion is proposed to be co-financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The remaining $664.23 million or approximately P37.28 billion will be funded by the Philippine government.

The DOF said the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge is seen to reduce travel time between Bataan and Cavite to 45 minutes from five hours.

It will complete the transport loop around Manila Bay and better connect Metro Manila to Central Luzon and nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon.

“The improved transport connectivity will promote deeper regional economic integration and spur economic activity within NCR, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon,” said Diokno.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the project’s implementing agency, is targeting to start construction of the bridge project by 2024.

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.

Apart from the bridge project, the Philippine government and the ADB inked a $200-million loan agreement for the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility-Second Additional Financing (lPlF-AF2).

The DOF said the lPlF-AF2 aims to sustain increased investments in infrastructure by enhancing the capacity of implementing agencies in preparing and managing public infrastructure investments through improving the delivery of high-quality, inclusive, climate-resilient, and low-carbon infrastructure projects; and accelerating sustainable, resilient, integrated, inclusive, and modern critical infrastructure development.

The additional financing will increase the scope of the ongoing project in order to respond to the government's new investment needs, which includes scaling up climate action, the Finance Department said.

The lPlF-AF2 amounts to $229.80 million, of which $200 million will be financed by the ADB while $29.80 million will be covered by the government through the DPWH and Department of Transportation (DOTr) budgets. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News