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Construction of the 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge Project is now at 69% complete
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The bridge will be opened to vehicular traffic by June 2024
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Weather permitting, the P7.37-billion inter-island bridge project will attain a 90% completion rate by December 2023 and 95% by March 2024
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The bridge project will reduce travel time between Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte to just seven minutes from around two hours
The Panguil Bay Bridge Project is expected to open to vehicular traffic by June 2024, with construction now at 69%, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Public Works senior undersecretary Emil Sadain said that weather permitting, the P7.37-billion inter-island bridge project is targeted to attain a 90% completion rate by December 2023 and 95% by March 2024.
DPWH earlier eyed completion of the bridge project in December 2023 but had moved it to the first half of 2024 due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 slowed the design and build activities for the bridge project, DPWH said construction activities started to recover in 2022 and early 2023, anchored on the catch-up plan and construction improvement measures.
The bridge project will reduce travel time between Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte to just seven minutes and is expected to bring many benefits to the local economy and conveniences for businesses and the general public in Northern Mindanao.
Present connectivity between Ozamis City/Tangub City and Tubod through roll-on/roll-off vessel is about one and a half hour to 2.5 hours including loading and unloading time, while land travel over a distance of 100 km is at 2-2.5 hours.
The infrastructure project is also seen to enhance economic growth by providing seamless transportation of goods and services.
The P7.375 billion bridge project is financed by a loan agreement between the Philippine government and the Korean Export Import Bank. The project contractor is Namkwang Engineering & Construction Corporation in joint venture with Kukdong Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. and Gumgwang Construction Co., Ltd. as well as engineering consultant Yooshin Engineering Corporation in joint venture with Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants Ltd. and Kyong-Ho Engineering & Architects Co., Ltd.
The Panguil Bay Bridge Project has a main bridge (extra-dosed type) with a length of 320 meters, 1,920 meters approach bridge made of pre-stressed concrete girder, and approach road.
The bridge will have a total length of 3.17 km and will surpass the 2.16 km San Juanico Bridge that connects Samar and Leyte provinces in Eastern Visayas Region as the longest bridge in the Philippines.
