Engineering design activities for Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges to begin by Q1 2023

MANILA: A long-time dream project for the people of Western Visayas is set to begin detailed engineering design (DED) activities by the first quarter of 2023, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain reported to DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan that the Department of Finance (DOF) had provided evidence of authority for the engineering services of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges for the loan agreement to be in effect.

As of now, the procurement of DED consulting services and tender assistance is underway, and the submission and receipt of bidding documents is set for December.

The 32.47-kilometer Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project, which consists of two sea-crossing bridges linking Panay Island, Guimaras Island, and Negros Island in Region 6, is a major and complex project that calls for thorough and high-standard engineering works to be performed by consultants with extensive experience in long-span bridges. This will help DPWH get ready for the construction in an efficient and timely manner.

The scope of engineering services, according to Sadain, includes preliminary design, which encompasses the evaluation of the feasibility study and preliminary and basic design; comprehensive engineering design, which includes an estimation of the detailed construction cost; and procurement assistance.

On November 10, Sadain conducted an on-site assessment of the proposed site of the road approach at the Negros Island side along with Pulupandan, Negros Occidental Mayor Miguel Antonio Pea, and the five DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Project Directors, namely Benjamin Bautista, Sharif Madsmo Hasim, Ramon Arriola III, Rodrigo Delos Reyes, and Soledad Florencio.

During the third quarter reorganizational meeting on September 14, the Infrastructure Development Committee of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 6 approved the Guimaras-Negros linkage, or Section B of the project for endorsement to RDC 6. The committee gave the project its full support and approval at the RDC 6 Full Council Third Quarter Meeting on October 13.

A sea crossing bridge with an approximate length of 13.11 kilometers, road approaches with an approximate total length of 5.49 kilometers, and road connectors with an approximate total length of 0.87 kilometers will make up the linkage between Guimaras and Negros.

Meanwhile, the Panay-Guimaras linkage, or Section A, will have a sea-crossing bridge with an approximately 4.97-kilometer length and a road approach with an approximately 8.03-kilometer length, for a total length of 13 kilometers.

“We still have a long way to go, but the wait will be worth it as we have the opportunity to make this dream come true,” Sadain stated.

The government of the Philippines received $56.6 million (approximately P3.2 billion) in loans from the government of the Republic of Korea at the beginning of this year for the engineering services of PGN Island Bridges.

In May 2022, an official exchange of loan agreement for the engineering services of PGN Island Bridges between the DOF and the Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) took place.

The KEXIM-Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) released a notice of concurrence on the shortlist of consultants for the DED in September in accordance with the loan guidelines.

Once the project is completed, the time it takes for commuters and motorists to go from Panay to the Negros Islands will be reduced from three to four hours to just less than an hour.

Photo from Department of Public Works and Highways

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