With the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR), the National Economic and Development Authority said it is optimistic that faster economic growth of the entire Visayas region will take place sooner.
NEDA Region 6 director Arecio Casing Jr. said June 21 that the Regional Development Committee-Visayas Area Committee, originally composed of Western, Eastern, and Central Visayas, aims to connect regions laterally, or an east-west connection linking Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros, and Panay.
“If we have north and south, up and down connectivity between Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, we also want to connect laterally. We want to transport people, products, and services between the Visayan regions. So, we have Boracay at the other end, and Samar at the other end,” Casing said in an interview.
He said they are now starting with the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge. And there is also a proponent that is willing to connect Negros to Cebu, Cebu-Bohol, and Bohol-Leyte.
Department of Public Works and Highways Region 6 director, Engr. Sanny Boy Oropel, earlier said the feasibility study for the design and detailed engineering of the P187.54 billion mega Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges project has started.
Spanning 32.47 kilometers, the project has two sections, consisting of Section A or the Panay to Guimaras section, with a length of 13 kilometers, and Section B, from Guimaras to Negros, with a length of 19.47 kilometers.
The detailed engineering design for Section A is expected to be completed within the year and civil works could start in the second semester of 2025. It is expected to be finished by the end of the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on June 30, 2028.
Section B is eyed for completion in 2030.
Marcos signed into law Republic Act (RA) 12000, or the NIR Act, in Malacañan Palace June 13.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) is being crafted by a technical working group composed of representatives from the departments of the Interior and Local Government, Budget and Management, and NEDA, the Philippine News Agency reported.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, meanwhile, said in a statement that with Negros Island now considered part of a single region, the government can provide greater focus in its development efforts in the area.
“Under the leadership of President Marcos, the DILG will help ensure a smooth and efficient transition to the new regional structure. We look forward to the positive impacts that the NIR will bring to the lives of the Negrenses and the whole nation,” Abalos added. ||
