Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is still optimistic about the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridges Project.
"Maybe it's just a delay but the fact that there's already a bidding for the Panay-Guimaras Bridge span, the Guimaras-Negros will also happen," Lacson said Thursday, November 23.
There was a failure of bidding for the detailed engineering design (DED) of the project, Arecio Casing Jr., National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Region 6 director said.
He said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will re-bid the DED since the bid price exceeded the allocated loan proceeds and the DPWH’s original contract estimate.
The construction of the P189.53 billion PGN Island Bridges Project will begin in 2025, he added.
The project has received all the required local endorsements of the provincial, municipal, and city councils of all affected areas.
The project covers an entire route of 32.47 kilometers (km), composed of two sections, namely Section A (the 13-km Panay-Guimaras bridge) and Section B (19.47-km Guimaras-Negros bridge).*