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The Department of Public Works and Highways is gearing up to start sub-structure works for the 3.2-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge Project
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With jacket fabrication ongoing, the initial bored piles and concrete pouring for pier 5 is targeted for end of April 2021
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The project will connect Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte in just seven minutes and spur inter-island travel in Northern Mindanao
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Panguil Bay Bridge will become the longest bridge in the country once completed in 2023, surpassing the 2.2-kilometer San Juanico Bridge
The Department of Public Works and Highways is gearing up to start sub-structure works for the 3.169-kilometer (km) Panguil Bay Bridge Project.
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar in a statement said construction of the bridge has been affected by restrictions in the movement of people and goods because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the contractor can now go full blast with the delivery of equipment and materials to be used for the foundation works.
READ: Mindanao’s P6B Panguil Bay Bridge development kicks off
Public Works undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office Operations Emil Sadain said major bridge equipment from South Korean joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumwang has reached the project site aboard vessels from South Korea and Brunei.
Sadain said that among the available major bridge equipment are revolving cranes, tug boats, barges, reverse circulation drilling machines, vibro pile hammer, and steel casings. Other land-based equipment such as concrete batch plant, motor graders, excavators, dump trucks, vibratory rollers, and payloaders are also now onsite, both in Tangub City and in Tubod, Lanao Del Norte.
With the jacket fabrication ongoing, the initial bored piles and concrete pouring for pier 5 are targeted for end of April 2021.
To prepare for the bored pile works on the Tangub and Tubod side, earth and embankment works on the access road and approach road are ongoing.
Considered a major infrastructure development in Northern Mindanao, the project aims to connect Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte in just seven minutes.
The infrastructure requires a total investment of P7.375 billion, of which P2.168 billion will be financed by the Philippine government and the P5.207 billion under a loan agreement with the Korean Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank).
Soon to be longest bridge in the Philippines, the project is seen to spur inter-island travel in Northern Mindanao.
Once Panguil Bay Bridge is completed in 2023, it will surpass the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge that connects Samar and Leyte provinces in Eastern Visayas Region as the longest bridge in the Philippines.
The extensive detailed engineering design of the Panguil Bay Bridge—consisting of the 320-meter extra-dosed type main bridge, approach bridge made of pre-stressed concrete girder 1,020 meters at Tangub section and 900 meters at Tubod section; and approach road 360 meters at Tangub and 569 meters at Tubod—was completed on December 2020 despite suspension of activities due to the pandemic.
