• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The civil works for the bridge from Guimaras to Negros is targeted to start by December 2026, according to Sanny Boy Oropel, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways for Western Visayas.
Oropel disclosed that the Detailed Engineering Design for section B of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) bridges, which will connect to Guimaras to Negros, is targeted for completion by December next year.
The Guimaras-Negros bridge, or PGN Section B, will be 19 kilometers long.
According to its feasibility study, Oropel said that the PGN bridge, which is 32 kilometers long in total, has a budget of P187 billion.
The DED for Panay-Guimaras bridge, or PGN Section A, which is 13 kilometers long, is targeted for completion by the end of this year, and the civil works completion is targeted to finish by 2028, according to Oropel.
Oropel said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is keen on the project, and has instructed officials to complete the detailed engineering design of Section A by December 2024, instead of the end – 2025. Consultants with extensive experience in long-span bridges assisted the DPWH in the preparations, according to Emil Kiram Sadain, Senior Undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) 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, DED for Section A (Panay-Guimaras) was at 78.65 percent complete, according to 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,”Aranaz said.
On the interchange design of the bridge, Project Director Benjamin Bautista emphasized that, “the technical study on traffic assessment is based on vehicle volume projections and traffic demand forecasting up to 2051.”*
