MANILA, Apr. 29 — The national budget will fund P586 million of the total P4.9 billion cost for the construction of the pioneering Panguil Bay Bridge project in Northern Mindanao, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said during the ceremonial signing today of the loan agreement between the Philippine Government and the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund (KEXIM-EDCF).
P4.2 billion will be funded through loan proceeds, while the remaining P586 million will be funded by the Philippine government.
DBM has issued the project’s Forward Obligational Authority (FOA), which gives an overview of the annual investment cost of the Panguil Bay Bridge project, particularly on KEXIM-EDCF and the Philippine government.
The breakdown is as follows:
For this year, P44 million has been included in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to cover the cost of land acquisition, administrative support, and payment of government taxes. For fiscal years 2017 to 2019, the budgetary requirements shall be accommodated within the budget ceiling of the DPWH.
Discussions on the Panguil Bay Bridge project started in 2014 through the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and NEDA board. Original funding was pegged at P5 billion. Upon the review of DPWH, however, the costs of direct construction, consultancy and physical contingency was decreased, which brought down the cost to P4.9 billion.
Considered a major infrastructure development in Northern Mindanao, the Panguil Bay Bridge will connect Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod City, Lanao del Norte and reduce travel time between Tangub and Tubod from the usual 2.5 hours to 7 minutes. It will also significantly improve the travel time from Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to the cities of Tangub, Ozamiz, Oroquieta, Dipolog, and Dapitan in Zamboanga de Norte. (DBM)