After a long period of anticipation, the DPWH finally announced the greenlighting of the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, or BCIB. As it stands, the engineering works are already at 70% completion, and the Department of Public Works and Highways estimates that the bridge structure construction will begin sometime in late 2023.
DPWH a few months ahead of schedule for BCIB construction
Photo: DPWH
Foreseen initially to begin in the first quarter of 2024, the DPWH is ahead of schedule by a few months. In a press briefing at Malacanan Palace, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan announced that within 2023, two cable-stay bridges will have been put up by year’s end.
“We will try to have this completed before the term of the President ends,” said Bonoan. With that, the DPWH has a target completion of 2028, and it has five years to finish it. The growth corridor is actually in the Southern part of Metro Manila and the other growth corridor is North of Manila. So, with this bridge, I think, you will have more direct access between these two growth areas,” Bonon said.
Photo: DPWH
Set to become the longest bridge in the Philippines, the DPWH is efforting to construct the 2-way, 2-lanes-each-side bridge that will span between Mariveles, Bataan, and Naic, Cavite. The bridge will be a vital link between the South of Luzon to the Northern ends. The BCIB will run a total length of 32.15 kilometers and it’s estimated that it will cut travel time between the two provinces from around 5 hours to only 30 minutes.
The funding for the BCIB’s construction is being backed by the Asia Development Bank and will cost PHP 175B.
Photo: DPWH
“The growth corridor is in the southern part of Metro Manila and the other growth corridor is in the north of Manila. With this bridge, I think we will have better access between these two. … We’ll try to have this completed before the term of the President ends (by mid-2028),” Bonoan later added.
The work of the past government continues into the current one, and from railways to flyovers and inter-provincial bridge ways, all are aimed at alleviating city traffic volume, shortening travel times across regions, and driving the Philippine economy forward.
The saying “huwag imaging dayuhan sa sariling bansa” [don’t be a foreigner in your own country] may be easier for a lot of people once projects like this have been completed. But more importantly, we hope that these will make investors more interested in bringing their businesses to us. What else are all these for if not for promoting easy travel and good business, right?
