DPWH starts bridge project to connect Visayan islands

BACOLOD CITY — What could be the country’s longest bridge connecting the islands of Negros, Panay and Guimaras would no longer be a dream.

Preparatory work for the more than P100-billion project would start next year, according to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

A feasibility study for the project was being prepared with financing through a grant from China, he said.

Preparation for construction would start next year,

Villar said.

He said the bridge would measure 6 kilometers long between Panay and Guimaras and 13 km between Guimaras and Negros.

Once completed, it would become the country’s longest, besting the 2-km-long San Juanico Bridge that connects Samar and Leyte provinces, according to Villar.

He said proponents would do their best to finish the bridge before President Duterte ends his term in 2022 “or at least significantly finish it.” —Carla P. Gomez