THE proposed coastal road connecting the cities of Cebu to Naga secured support from Cebu Gov.-elect Pamela Baricuatro on Monday, June 16, 2025.
In a social media post, Baricuatro shared her vision for the coastal road, which promises a rapid 15-minute transportation link between Naga and Cebu City once completed.
On Monday, she met with representatives from the project dubbed “Neceboley,” an infrastructure initiative aiming to seamlessly connect the islands of Negros, Cebu, Bohol, and Leyte.
Under the proposal, the project includes several hectares of land reclamation from the cities of Talisay and Naga and the town of Minglanilla. The toll coastal road and expressway will connect the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City to Barangay Tinaan in Naga. It will feature at least two interchanges in Talisay City, one at the SRP and two in Naga.
“Imagine a future where Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte are seamlessly connected, bringing rural communities closer to urban centers and opening up new opportunities for everyone,” Baricuatro wrote.
However, Baricuatro’s upcoming administration prioritizes Package C of the project. This package involves the construction of a viaduct and causeway to connect the City of Naga to SRP, as well as the reclamation of 568.37 hectares from the coastlines of Naga (172.49 hectares), Talisay (247.68 hectares), and Minglanilla (148.20 hectares).
Package C aligns with Baricuatro’s priority agenda on “Jobs for All” and “Poverty Alleviation.” Aside from job generation, the project is also expected to address traffic congestion in southeastern Cebu. The reclaimed land will reportedly be used for the development of ready-to-use complexes for residential, commercial, industrial and tourism-related purposes.
The project went viral last year, with the $15-billion mega infrastructure project gaining attention after Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Co. (AG&P) signed a deal on April 23, 2024, to work with Visayas Neceboley Interlink Holdings Corp. (VNIHC) on a project in the central part of the country. This massive undertaking involves the construction of a 238.05-kilometer network of all-weather bridges and expressways.
The project reportedly received original proponent status (OPS) from the local government units of Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol and Southern Leyte, allowing its development under a public-private partnership framework. It will be supported by a private consortium of global partners who will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the bridges, road and mass transit network, which will be composed of four-lane bridges with expanded expressways.
However, on April 27, 2024, the Cebu Provincial Government debunked these reports, reiterating that the Capitol’s Economic Enterprise Council had not issued an OPS or engaged with AG&P and VNIHC.
The interlink package comprises six components:
(a) a bridge from Sibulan, Negros Oriental to Santander, Cebu;
(b) a south transaxial highway from Santander to the City of Naga;
(c) a viaduct and causeway from Naga connecting to the SRP;
(d) an aqualink bridge from Cordova, Cebu to Getafe, Bohol;
(e) a highway from Getafe to Ubay, Bohol; and
(f) bridges from Ubay to the island municipality of Pres. Garcia, Bohol (formerly Pitogo) that will connect to Maasin, Southern Leyte.
Construction of a bridge connecting Cebu and Bohol has been proposed for several years. In 2016, the National Economic and Development Authority approved the project called the Bohol-Cebu Friendship Bridge.
Its funding was endorsed to be sourced from the Chinese government. However, it was later removed from the list of priority projects in 2019. / EHP