CONSUNJI RETRACES CEBU LINK WITH TOLL BRIDGE MARVEL

Cebu—consunji family-led conglomerate DMCI Holdings is raising its stake in Cebu’s construction and property markets, two of the core businesses it expects to perform well in the coming years.

Cebu Link Joint Venture, the consortium of Acciona, First Balfour and D.M. Consunji Inc., has already spent 5.3 million manhours to build 47 percent of the Cebu-cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), a toll bridge that would connect mainland Cebu from Cebu City to Cordova town in Mactan Island. At 8.25 kilometers, this will be the longest bridge connecting two islands in the Philippines.

The participation Consunji in this project marks its return to Cebu’s construction space after nearly two decades of absence.

The toll bridge, a project of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. in partnership with the city of Cebu and the municipality of Cordova, will be completed by 2021, in time for the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the country.

The structure will feature a lighted cross on top of two 145meter high pylons, a tribute to Magellan’s Cross or the cross planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu in the Philippines in 1521.

“The design, scale and complexity of this project makes it an engineering and construction marvel. We are proud to be part of this iconic project,” said DMCI president and chief executive Jorge Consunji.

Meanwhile, DMCI Homes has started landbanking in Cebu, so far accumulating 55,617 square meters of property for high-rise condominium projects that would be launched starting next year.

DMCI Homes recently acquired a 9,695-square meter property in Lahug, Cebu City, a few minutes’ drive from Cebu IT Park, Cebu Business Park, University of the Philippines Cebu and Metro Sports Center.

“Cebu is one of the fastest growing economies in the Philippines. Expanding here is a natural step for us,” DMCI Homes president Alfredo Austria said.