PUBLIC Works Secretary Mark Villar said the construction of the $1-billion bridge connecting the four islands in Visayas is expected to start late next year.
Villar on Thursday, June 29, said he is hoping to start the civil works of the Iloilo-Guimaras-Negros-Cebu Link Bridge in the “near future, not so far future.”
“We will start once we already complete the feasibility study, which is currently ongoing... you have to understand that these bridges require a lot of detailed engineering. This process takes a year, the planning for such a major undertaking,” Villar said.
He assured the Negrenses that it is still one of the priority projects of the Duterte administration, “but given the size and complexity of the project, it might take a little longer to finish the feasibility study and detail engineering design.”
Villar said he is hoping the bridge will be completed before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends.
The bridge is one of the infrastructure projects of Duterte to help decongest Manila and disperse the development in the regions.
Villar had earlier said that the bridge, after its completion, is seen to replace San Juanico Bridge, which links Samar and Leyte, as the longest bridge in the country.
He said the length of the bridges that will connect Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros and Cebu, ranges from two to 10 kilometers.
Meanwhile, Villar said he is looking to have a “shorter timeline” to complete the New Bacolod Highway, adding that he is expecting the project to be finished in three years.