Endorse Bohol-Cebu bridge project

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — The DPWH must endorse now the proposed multi-billion-peso Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge project that would connect the islands of Cebu and Bohol.

This endorsement was sought by Rep. Erico Aumentado (2nd district, Bohol) in his letter to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson recently, saying that the previous administration had already endorsed it to the NEDA and to the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for funding.

The project would make land trip easier between the two provinces, bring additional power supply from Cebu’s power plant to Bohol, advanced telecommunications technology via fiber optics set through the bridge, and accelerate the dispersal of industries from Cebu to Bohol, especially the northeast corridor, said Aumentado.

“The bridge can accelerate the symbiotic exchange of excess water from Bohol after satisfying its domestic needs while Cebu can send power, expected to be a surplus by 2015 because of the development of coal-fired plants now. Bohol is limited to developing hydroelectric power as other forms can be detrimental to its environment which is the anchor of its eco-cultural and adventure tourism,” he said.

Aumentado wanted the DPWH to endorse his proposal for technical assistance for the project, including a grant for the conduct of a feasibility study and detailed engineering design, telling Singson that he already initiated back-channel talks with the proper Korean government authorities on the matter.

The congressman explained that KOICA provides official development assistance from its government funds kept at the Korea Export-Import Bank called the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), saying that he was confident that Korea will favorably consider the ODA grant to finance the project.

“The bridge can be constructed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law. This early, a group of Chinese financiers as well as the International Bridge Construction Company of California have expressed interest in undertaking the project either through BOT or the Build-Operate-Own scheme which means the Philippine government will not spend a single centavo for it,” Aumentado said.

Aside from endorsement to Koica and the Eximbank-EDCF, the solon also asked Singson to endorse it also to the NEDA Investments Coordinating Committee Technical Board (ICC-TB) chaired by Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan and other appropriate authorities in order to complete the process.

Copies of his request to DPWH were also furnished to Eximbank’s country director Man Hwan Park, KOICA-Philippines resident representative Kim Jinoh, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Mayors Adelino Sitoy of Cordova in Cebu and Cary Camacho of Getafe in Bohol.

The bridge’s end-points or anchors would be Getafe in Bohol and Cordova in Cebu, spanning a distance of 17.5 kilometers only. Between the two are the Olango and Hilotongan Channels, some islets, shoals and shallow seawaters. “This augurs well for a simple design and easy construction of the bridge,” said Aumentado.

The Provincial Development Council (PDC) of Bohol, which Aumentado headed in the past, had already endorsed the project through a resolution in 2009.

The original resolution further got endorsement from the Central Visayas Regional Development Council, chaired before by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, requesting DPWH for its own endorsement of the project to the EDCF. - THE FREEMAN