DPWH signs P3B design contract for Bataan-Cavite mega bridge

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Representatives from DPWH and consultants signed the contract for the detailed engineering design consultancy of the Cavite-Bataan Bridge Project | Photo from DPWH
  • 32km mega-bridge connects Bataan and Cavite provinces
  • Project will cut travel time from five hours to only 30 minutes
  • The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project involves construction of four-lane (two lanes each direction) bridge from Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, crossing Manila Bay, and terminating in Barangay Timalan, Naic, Cavite.
  • Bridge will become the largest and longest in the Philippines
Representatives from DPWH and consultant companies during the signing of contract for the detailed engineering design consultancy of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Project | Photo from DPWH

The detailed engineering design (DED) for a 32-kilometer (km) mega-bridge connecting Bataan and Cavite provinces will be carried out in the next 15 months following the signing of a P3.03-billion consultancy contract, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The P3-billion contract agreement on the provision of consulting services for the DED of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Project was signed on October 20 by DPWH Undersecretary for Unified Management Office Operations (UPMO) Emil K. Sadain and the winning consultants procured by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Other parties to the contract agreement are T.Y. Lin International; Pyunghwa Engineering; Renardet S.A.; DCCD Engineering Corp.; and project director Sharif Madsmo H. Hasim of the implementing office DPWH UPMO Roads Management Cluster 2.

According to Sadain, the DED is scheduled from November 2020 to January 2022 and will be funded by an additional financing for the Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility (IPIF) under a signed loan agreement on December 2019 between ADB and Department of Finance.

The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project involves the construction of a 32.15-km, four-lane (two lanes each direction) bridge starting from Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, crossing Manila Bay, and terminating in Barangay Timalan, Naic, Cavite.

It involves construction of two navigation bridges: the North Channel Bridge and South Channel Bridge with main span of 400 meters and 900 meters, respectively.

The proposed bridge project is composed of the following: Package 1 – Bataan Land Viaduct (5.04 km), Package 2 – Northern Marine Viaduct (8.0 km), Package 3 – Southern Marine Viaduct (12.6 km), Package 4 – Approach Viaducts to Northern and Southern Navigation Channel Bridges (2.6 km), Package 5 – Navigation Channel Bridges (2.6 km), Package 6 – Cavite Land Viaduct (1.31 km), and Package 7 – Ancillary Buildings.

“This Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project will provide a permanent road linkage between the two provinces in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog Region in order to reduce the journey time and ease traffic congestion through Metro Manila,” DPWH secretary Mark Villar said.

Aside from cutting travel time and vehicle operating costs, the project aims to provide opportunities for economic growth and expansion outside Metro Manila, as well as to support the development of the seaports in Cavite and Bataan as premier international shipping gateways to the country, Villar said.

Sadain said the iconic bridge, which will become the largest and longest in the country, will be the faster way by land from Cavite all the way to Bataan and vice versa, with motorists directly travelling between Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.

Once completed, the project will cut the present five hours of travel time to only 20 to 30 minutes.