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32-billion contract for the 4-kilometer Samal Island to Davao City Connector (SIDC) Project has been signed
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The Philippines can apply for a loan with China to proceed with project’s detailed engineering design
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Once engineering design is complete, China Road and Bridge Corp. will start on the 54-month civil works of the connector project
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The four-lane bridge will cut motorists’ travel time between Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal to two to five minutes
The design and construction of the 3.98-kilometer (km) connector project linking Samal Island to Davao City has been green-lighted with the contract signing between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC).
With the forging of the P19.32-billion contract, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said they can now apply for a loan agreement with the Chinese government in order to proceed with the detailed engineering design (DED) of the Samal Island to Davao City Connector (SIDC) Project. The loan agreement will be made through the China International Development Cooperation Agency.
The implementation of the toll-free four-lane bridge will bring down travel time for around 25,000 daily motorists to only two to five minutes between Davao City in Davao del Sur and Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) in Davao del Norte, Villar said in a statement.
The CRBC, which was one of the three shortlisted contractors, bagged the design and build contract of the SIDC following the procurement activities held in November and December 2020, according to DPWH undersecretary Emil Sadain.
Once the detailed engineering design is completed, the CRBC will start on the 54-month civil works stage of the project.
The SIDC is a China-funded modern bridge project that will connect the Samal Circumferential Road in Barangay Limao, IGaCoS to Davao City in between the R. Castillo-Daang Maharlika junction.
It will have a main span measuring 250 meters and a vertical navigation clearance of up to 47 meters crossing over Pakiputan strait. The bridge will also be supported by two pylons with a height of 73 meters.
