3.17 km Panguil Bay Bridge Project is one of 119 flagship projects under Pres. Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” program
(Eagle News) — With just about a month to go before the end of President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, public works officials reported on Thursday, June 2, that what has been envisioned to be the longest bridge in Mindanao is already half-way finished.
The the Panguil Bay Bridge Project, when finished will be a 3.17 kilometer two-way two-lane bridge that will link Tangub City in Misamis Occidental with the Municipality of Tubod in Lanao del Norte.
According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), this bridge project is listed among the 119 infrastructure flagship projects under the “Build, Build, Build” Program.
“The construction of Mindanao’s Longest Bridge is now halfway done,” the DPWH declared on Thursday, June 2.
The DPWH Acting Secretary Roger Mercado together with Undersecretary and “Build Build Build” chief implementer Emil Sadain inspected the bridge project on Wednesday, June 1.
“I am delighted that the work is now progressing at a faster pace using state-of-the-art engineering equipment and adopting modern technology in bridge construction,” Mercado said.
-Completion by Dec. 2023-
The Panguil Bay Bridge Project is targeted for completion by December 2023. It will make commuting easier as it will only take travel from Tangub to Tubod only seven minutes once completed compared to the current 1 hour and 30 minutes via Roll-On Roll-Off vessels operating from Ozamis to Mucas. As of present, land travel through Panguil Bay road also takes at the most two-and-a-half hours over a total length of 100 kilometers, the DPWH said.
The inter-island bridge project will require 54 bored piles for the 32 piers, two (2) abutments at Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, and two (2) pylons of the main bridge.
DPWH Undersecretary Sadain reported in his briefing that the project is already 51.4 percent complete, after recovering from the delays in the delivery of equipment and materials in 2020. The delay was due to the “unprecedented impact of the global coronavirus pandemic,” the DPWH said.
Sadain said that a total of 29 bored piles have been completed off-shore as of November 2021.
The ₱7.37 Billion Panguil Bay Bridge Project has funding assistance from South Korea and is being implemented by the DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO).
President Duterte led the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on November 28, 2018.
(Eagle News Service)
