Construction of the 3.17-km Panguil Bay Bridge in northern Mindanao is progressing well, with an overall accomplishment rate of 69%, announced the Philippines’ Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on 10 May.
The project is targeted to attain 90% completion by December 2023, and 95% by March 2024. It is slated to open by June 2024.
This new inter-island bridge is expected to reduce the travel time between Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte to seven minutes, from the current two to two and a half hours.
“We are particularly excited about the upcoming completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project, which we believe marks a significant milestone for the whole Mindanao,” said DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain.
“This valuable infrastructure project will greatly enhance economic growth as it will serve as a vital gateway that connects and further strengthens the region’s infrastructure, providing seamless transportation of goods and services.”
The design and build activities for the Panguil Bay Bridge were slowed down by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, said DPWH. The project has started to recover in 2022 and early 2023 anchored on the catch-up plan and construction improvement measures.
This Php 7.37 billion project is funded by a loan agreement between the governments of the Philippines and South Korea through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund. The construction work is undertaken by Korean joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumwang, with Yooshin Engineering Corp in JV with Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants and Kyong-Ho Engineering & Architects as project consultant.
According to DPWH, the main and approach bridges will feature cast-in-place pile foundations and will be built using free-cantilever and incremental launching methods respectively.
The main bridge will be 320 m long with parallel high strength HDPE-coated multi-strands stay cable, while the length of the two approach bridge sections and approach roads will be 1.38 km and 1.47 km respectively.
Image: DPWH
