Project gets initial P4.8B fund from RDC-6

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines -- The ambitious dream of building bridges linking the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros, estimated recently to cost P53.9 billion, may come true after an initial fund of P4.8 billion was set aside for its first phase of work, Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said. 

The initial budget of P4.8 billion was allocated for the Panay-Guimaras bridge under the Regional Development Investment Program (RDIP) for 2011 to 2016.

The P4.8 billion budget for the Panay-Guimaras bridge is part of the P220 billion earmarked under the RDIP for 2011 to 2016 that will be spent for roads, bridges, flood control, ports and irrigation projects for the Western Visayas, Marañon said.

This development was presented to congressmen, governors and mayors of highly urbanized cities of Western Visayas during the Regional Development Council meeting at the Batasang Pambansa building in Quezon City Tuesday, Marañon said Wednesday.

The Panay-Guimaras span will be the first project for the interconnection of Panay Island to Negros Occidental, he added.

"The project plan for the bridges has already been drafted. The project can now take off. These bridges can happen within your lifetime," the governor told reporters yesterday.

Marañon said the bridges will spur economic growth in the region, with Guimaras receiving more economic benefits as those going to Panay from Negros or vice versa will pass through the province.

The initial funding for the work on first phase of the bridges is also a strong encouragement to investors to invest on the project, in line with President Aquino's PPP (public-private partnership) thrust, he said.

The dream of building Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges started in 2006 as envisioned by the governors of the three islands. The governor of Negros Occidental at that time was the late Joseph Marañon, the current governor's brother.

In 2006, the estimate for the bridges was P10 billion, until it became P25 billion, and the latest estimate is P53.9 billion, according to the DPWH.

Engineer Danilo Peroy, chief of the Planning and Design Division of the DPWH-Western Visayas, earlier said that their feasibility studies showed the Iloilo City-Guimaras bridge, spanning a distance of 2.59 kilometers, will cost P14.173 billion, while the longer bridge connecting Guimaras and Negros at 20.6 kilometers, will cost P39.8 billion.

All in all, the amount would be P53.973 billion, or more than a hundred percent increase from the previous estimate of P25 billion, he said. (FREEMAN)