A BUSINESS leader in Bacolod City said the government especially the Department of Public Works and Highways should hasten the construction of road projects to complement the proposed Negros-Panay Bridge.
While they believe in the realization of the bridge that will interconnect Negros, Guimaras and Panay Islands, its construction and completion may take about three to four years, said Frank Carbon, regional governor of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in Western Visayas and chief executive officer of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI).
"The technology and the engineering design are already there but the most important thing is the funding requirement which is a huge amount,” Carbon said.
He said road projects that will connect Negros Occidental to Negros Oriental, like Kabankalan to Bayawan, Himamaylan to Tayasan, and Binalbagan to Isabela to Guihulngan must be hastened so it would be easy for the farmers to transport goods to Iloilo once the bridge is already completed.
The irrigation projects must also be given importance to improve the production of farm products that would be transported to Iloilo and vice versa, he said.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Director-General Ernesto Pernia earlier said the Negros-Panay Bridge is expected to break ground in 2019.
He also said the bridge construction is expected to be finished before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends in 2022 and that the funding will be sourced from the Official Development Assistance from other countries like Japan, Korea, China, or from the World Bank.
He said the cost will be determined after the feasibility study is concluded.
Meanwhile, Carbon said about 300 employees of the Provincial Capitol will have a team building seminar on March 7 to 10 to improve public service.
The seminar which is a partnership of the provincial government and MBCCI will be held at Nature's Village Hotel and Restaurant in Talisay City.