DPWH says Bataan-Cavite bridge to break ground this year
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced the construction of a cable-stayed bridge project from Bataan to Cavite which will break ground this year.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the construction of the Bataan - Cavite bridge is among the infrastructure projects that he reported to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the sectoral meeting at the Palace on Tuesday.
"We informed him actually about one of the very significant projects that will be implemented in Metro Manila, and this is the bridge that will connect Cavite and Bataan. This is about 32 kilometers of the bridge across Manila Bay. And this will include two bridges. One of the bridges will be 400 meters and the other one is 900 meters," he said
"The detailed engineering is now ongoing; it’s about 70 percent complete. And we told the President that it will be ready within the year to actually break ground on the implementation of this very significant bridge," he added.
Bonoan said the Cavite - Bataan bridge project that costs P175 billion will be funded through Official Development Assistance from the Asian Development Bank.
" Going through Manila to Bataan takes more than three hours, now the travel time with this bridge will take less than two hours from Manila," he said.
Bonoan said the DPWH "intends to start construction towards the latter part of this year" and to try to complete the project before the end of the administration.
"We will try to have this completed before the term of the President. But, these are iconic bridges, the large kind of cable-stayed bridges".
He also stressed the importance of the bridge in developing the economy.
"The growth corridor is actually in the southern part of Metro Manila and the other growth corridor is north of Manila. So, with this bridge, I think, you will have better access to more direct access between these two growth areas and significantly it will actually improve economic development not only in Luzon but for the entire country," said Bonoan.
"There is a big benefit that has been derived. And no less than the Asian Development Bank has indicated that the economic rate of return of this bridge is more than 25 percent and that’s big, that’s really big," he added.
Aside from the Bataan - Cavite bridge, Bonoan also mentioned that a project for the construction of six bridges across the Pasig Rriver was also presented to Marcos.
"We presented it to the President for groundbreaking. In Particular, there are almost six bridges that will be constructed across the Pasig River. Three of these bridges are funded from the Asian Development Bank assistance, and three other bridges are actually being assisted from the Chinese Exim Bank and these are the projects that had been presented by the President during his visit in China," he said.
Other projects also presented to the president include the "NLEX-SLEX connecter" whose first segment from Caloocan to Espana will be ready for inauguration before the Holy Week.
"There is a segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway that is also ready for inauguration before the State-of-the-Nation Address of the President in June," he said.
Another significant project also assisted by Official Development Assistance is the Central Luzon link project. "This is from Tarlac going to Cabanatuan. So this would also be ready for inauguration before sometime in June. This is just one segment."
"And, of course, there are also other road projects in Samar Island, which we call the Samar Pacific Coastal Road. This will be the continuation of the roads in the Pacific area of Samar," he added.
Bonoan said from July to December 2022, "the Department of Public Works and Highways, being the principal infrastructure arm of government, has implemented, maintained, constructed and improved about 1,500 kilometers of national roads and local roads all over the country."
"We have also undertaken the construction of about 161 bridges along national roads also and other local roads during this period, about six months, 161 important bridges. And, of course, we have undertaken 851 flood control projects to mitigate flooding in areas that had been prone to flooding because of climate change," he said. Robina Asido/DMS
