DPWH: Construction of Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge to start in late 2023
MANILA, Philippines — Construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge is slated to start in late 2023, with its detailed engineering plan already 70% completed, Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan said Tuesday.
In a Palace briefing, Bonoan said the department informed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday that the project, which will include two cable-stayed navigation bridges, will be implemented this year.
“The detailed engineering is now ongoing; it’s about 70 percent complete. We told the President it would be ready within the year to ground break the implementation of this very significant bridge,” he said.
He added the government intends to start construction of the bridge project “in the latter part of this year” and is aimed to be completed in five years.
“We will try to have this completed before the term of the President ends,” the DPWH chief said.
The 32-kilometer-long inter-island bridge project, which will be built across Manila Bay and will go through Corregidor Island, is expected to connect the provinces of Bataan and Cavite and cut the travel time from five hours to less than an hour.
Bonoan said the project is expected to improve access in the two provinces, touting many benefits.
“No less than the ADB has indicated that the economic rate of return of this bridge is more than 25%. It’s really big,” he said.
Bonoan said the project, which will cost P175 billion, will be funded through official development assistance from the Asia Development Bank.
Apart from the Bataan-Cavite bridge project, the government also aims to ground other major bridges, including the six that will be constructed across Pasig River.
The DPWH chief said three of the bridges would also be funded through ODA from the ADB, while the other three will be funded through an ODA from a Chinese bank.
“These are the projects that have been presented by the President during his visit in China,” Bonoan said.
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