DOF: BRIDGE INITIATIVE TO LINK VISAYAS, LUZON

THE government is planning to build a host of bridges to link the Visayan Islands to Luzon to encourage economic activity and create jobs, the Finance department said on Thursday.

The initiative is expected to cost a combined P269.19 billion, the department said in a statement.

Investment Coordination Committee ( ICC) approval will be sought for the following:

• an 18.2-kilometer bridge to connect Samar province to the main island of Luzon;

• a 20-km bridge connecting Leyte to Mindanao through either an underwater tunnel or a longspan overhead structure;

• the 5.7-km Panay-Guimaras bridge;

• a 12.3-km Guimaras-Negros inter-island linkage;

• the 1-km Bohol-Lapinig Island bridge;

• 18-km Lapinig Island-to-Leyte bridge;

• 5.5- km Cebu- Negros Link Bridge; and

• the 24.5-km Cebu-to-Bohol Link Bridge.

To complement the bridge projects, the government will construct road networks that will lead to the development of growth corridors in the Visayas.

The islands are already expected to receive a boost from four “Build Build Build” projects — improvements to three regional airports and the New Cebu International Container Port — that have already approved for implementation by the National Economic and Development Authority.

Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin, speaking for Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd at the closing of an economic briefing in Cebu, said: “These bridges will provide growth corridors and ensure that none of the major islands of the Visayas will be left behind in the country’s race to progress.”

“When we speak of the need for equitable, more inclusive growth, the Visayas region should be top of mind,” he added.

Poverty rates in Western, Central and Eastern Visayas were said to be higher than national average of 21.6 percent in 2015 and income inequality was noted as evident among these regions,

Per capita income as of 2016 stood at P127,757 in Central Visayas, way above P76,459 and P67,638, respectively, in Western and Eastern Visayas. All figures, however, were lower than the national average of P140,259.