Groundbreaking rites set for Cebu-Cordova bridge

CORDOVA, Cebu – No less than President Duterte is expected to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of the 130-billion Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, the third bridge that will link mainland Cebu to the island of Mactan.

Duterte is scheduled to fly to Cebu on March 2 to witness the groundbreaking of the project that took years to materialize. It is one of the biggest infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration outside of Manila.

Spanning eight kilometers, the CCLEX will connect Cebu City to the Municipality of Cordova and will serve as an alternate route in going to and from the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

The bridge, named Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, will be built, managed, and operated by Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC)

The third bridge will have a direct link to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, cutting off travel time for those coming from mainland Cebu going to the airport.

It will span eight kilometers from the mouth of the Guadalupe River to Shell Island and then Cordova. The project includes the construction of a toll plaza and causeway. The project is set to be completed in 2020.

Former Cordova mayor Adelino Sitoy, who is the current head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), said he will bring the President to the South Road Properties (SRP) so he can get a view of Shell Island and the flag that will be used in the groundbreaking.

The Cebu side of the CECLEX will be in Cebu City, crossing the Mactan Channel to Shell Island in Cordova town, on the Mactan side.

Sitoy said President Duterte will be accompanied by some Cabinet members who also expressed interest in attending the ceremony. He said the President still has no itinerary for his Cebu visit.

This will be President Duterte’s third visit to Cebu since he assumed office. The President had visited in August last year the soldiers at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command in Camp Lapu-Lapu, Lahug, Cebu City, and last month had made a brief stopover dinner at the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Airbase in Lapu-Lapu City with Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III after visiting super typhoon Yolanda-affected families in Tacloban City.

The four-lane CECLEX is intended to decongest traffic on MactanMandaue Bridge and the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, and will be located around 7.5 kilometers south of the two existing Mactan-Mandaue bridges. (With a report from PNA)