BATAAN Governor Albert Garcia said the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) will spur economic development in his province and other parts of the country.
He recently met with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official who presented him the detailed engineering design (DED) of the P175-billion bridge.
"Sa kabila ng pandemyang ating kinakaharap, patuloy po nating tinututukan ang pagsulong ng mga proyektong pang-imprastraktura sa ating lalawigan," the governor said. "Isa na rito ang 32-kilometer BCIB na tinatayang mas magpapaunlad hindi lamang ng ating lalawigan kung hindi ng iba pang kalapit na probinsiya at rehiyon.”
(Despite the pandemic we are facing, we continue to focus on the advancement of infrastructure projects in our province. One of these is the 32-kilometer BCIB that is estimated to further develop not only our province but also other neighboring provinces and regions.)
Garcia said the DPWH signed last year the contract for the commencement of the four-lane bridge's DED.
"Inaasahan po na sa taong 2022 ay tapos na at makikita na natin ang kabuuang disenyo ng 4-lane bridge," the governor said.
(It is hoped that by 2022, it will be finished and we will see the overall design of the 4-lane bridge.)
The Bataan-Cavite bridge, otherwise known as the Manila Bay Bridge, is expected to start by 2022.
The BCIB will be funded by the Asian Development Bank of the Philippines.
The project includes the construction of two cable-stayed navigation bridges – the North Channel Bridge and the South Channel Bridge.
These two structures will have main spans of 400 meters and 900 meters, respectively. The marine bridges will stand in water as deep as 50 meters.