THE Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) has announced that construction of a 8.25-kilometer toll road to be known as the Cebu-Cordova Bridge is targeted to start sometime in 2017 and is estimated to be completed by 2020.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MPTDC, which is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said the project is estimated to cost around P27.9 billion, which includes the construction cost with inflation over a four-year period.
This will also include the construction of toll facilities and the implementation of the operating system, the right-of-way cost, and the financing costs. The funding will be sourced from a combination of loans from local banks and equity contribution.
Joint venture
Metro Pacific received the notices of award from both Cebu City and Cordova for the financing, design, construction, implementation, operation and maintenance of the bridge, subject to compliance with conditions precedent.
According to the disclosure, the notices of awards were issued to Metro Pacific after no one submitted comparative proposals on or before the Dec. 7, 2015 deadline, as indicated in the published “Invitation to Bid and Submit Comparative Proposals for the Project.”
The disclosure said the project, which will be implemented through an unincorporated joint venture among the company, Cebu City and Cordova is envisioned to decongest traffic in the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge.
It includes the construction of the connections to Cebu City and Cordova, the main bridge structure, viaduct, causeway, roadway and toll facilities. It is located around 7.5 kilometers south of the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and will take off from the Cebu South Coastal Road crossing the Mactan Channel to Mactan Island.
Benefits
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the new bridge will bring wonders as a real economic engine not only for Cebu but for the entire Region 7.
He said that when he was chairman of the Regional Development Council 7, he advocated the construction of the Cordova, Cebu-Jetafe, Bohol Bridge, which was also conceptualized by the late Bohol governor Erico Aumentado.
Rama said if both Cebu-Cordova Bridge and Cebu-Bohol Bridge are realized, these will complement each other.
“This Cebu-Cordova Bridge will shorten travel time between Cebu City and Mactan airport and is economically much advantageous to all,” Rama said.
Meanwhile, Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy said he wants the third bridge to be called the Señor Sto. Niño Bridge.
Sitoy said that once realized, the third bridge will spark rapid economic development for Cordova, where SM Prime Holdings will also reclaim 1,500 hectares.