DPWH chief: Feasibility studies for Davao-Samal, Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges done

IMUS, Cavite — The feasibility studies for the two multi-billion bridges in Mindanao and Visayas are now ready for the next stage prior to its construction, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Wednesday.

"'Yung Davao-Samal bridge that's already in the final stages of our feasibility study, tapos na, and gagawin na 'yung detailed engineering design," Public Works Secretary Mark Villar told reporters at the sidelines of the groundbreaking for the Cavite segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAEx).

For the Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge, Villar said, "'Yung feasibility study tapos na, meron na kaming feasibility study. Then doon na kami sa detailed engineering."

The DPWH chief noted that the two bridge projects are now in the "advance stage of development."

"We can expect that we can start also and finish it significantly within the term of the President," Villar said.

The Davao-Samal Bridge project has an estimated cost of P9 billion, spanning 4.4 kilometers. The Panay-Guimaras-Negros Interisland Bridge project, meanwhile, will be constructed in two phases — 14.3-kilometer Panay-Guimaras link and 5.7-kilometer Guimaras-Negros link — and is estimated to cost around P40 billion.

The Department of Finance earlier said the projects are in the lineup to be funded by official development assistance (ODA) loan from China. 

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the Davao-Samal Bridge project in Mindanao and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Interisland Bridge project in Western Visayas are two other projects in the pipeline for possible Chinese financing. —KBK, GMA News