• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The civil works for the Guimaras to Negros bridge is being eyed to start by December 2026, according to Sanny Boy Oropel, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for Western Visayas.
Oropel said on Tuesday (Nov. 12) that the detailed engineering design (DED) for Section B of Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) bridges project, which will connect Guimaras to Negros, is being targeted for completion by December next year.
Guimaras-Negros bridge, or PGN Section B, is 19 kilometers long.
The feasibility study showed that the PGN bridge, which is 32 kilometers long, has a budget of P187 billion.
The DED for Panay-Guimaras bridge, or PGN Section A, which is 13 kilometers long, is seen to be completed by the end of the year.
Its civil works is targeted to be finished by 2028, Oropel said.
Oropel said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is keen on the completion of the project, and has instructed officials to complete the DED of Section A by December 2024, instead of the end-2025.
DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil Kiram Sadain said that consultants with extensive experience in long-span bridges assisted the DPWH in the preparations.
The National Economic Development Authority Board’s Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee has earlier approved the supplementary feasibility study report and engineering services for the project.
As of October this year, the DED for PGN Section A was 78.65 percent completed, according to the DPWH.
Project manager Antonio Erwin Aranaz underscored the positive impact of the project in regional and local development upon its completion.
“The project will create job opportunities that will address poverty and unemployment; increase mobility, safety and security; foster community engagement and empowerment; provide easier access to government services; and, spur economic growth through tourism,” he said.
Project director Benjamin Bautista emphasized that, “the technical study on traffic assessment are based on vehicle volume projection and traffic demand forecasting up to 2051”. | GB
