The 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao is ongoing in full gear.
At an overall accomplishment rate of 69 percent, the ₱7.37 Billion bridge project was inspected on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 by Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, in-charge of DPWH infrastructure flagship projects under “Build, Better, More” program of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
He was joined in the field inspection by DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Roads Management Cluster 2 (UPMO-RMC 2) Project Director Sharif Madsmo H. Hasim; Stakeholders Relations Service Director Randy R. Del Rosario; Project Managers Teresita V. Bauzon and Marlon V. Galerio; and District Engineer Maria B. David.
In his report to DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, Senior Undersecretary Sadain said that weather permitting, the inter-island bridge project is target to attain 90 percent completion by December 2023, reach 95 percent by March 2024, and to open to vehicular by June 2024.
By reducing down the travel time to 7 minutes the 2 to 2.5 hours land travel between Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, the bridge is expected to bring many benefits to the local economy and conveniences for businesses and the general public in Northern Mindanao.
We are particularly excited about the upcoming completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project, which we believe marks a significant milestone for the whole Mindanao, added Senior Undersecretary Sadain.
This valuable infrastructure project will greatly enhance economic growth as it will serve as a vital gateway that connects and further strengthens the region’s infrastructure, providing seamless transportation of goods and services.
Although the design and build activities for the Panguil Bay Bridge Project were slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, this remarkable infrastructure project has started to recover in 2022 and early 2023 anchored on the catch-up plan and construction improvement measures.
Construction blitz started after the full completion of all the 54 bored piling works to allow the start of construction of the 36 abutment and pier column, 32 coping, and commence on both ends at Tubod and Tangub City the incremental launching method (ILM) for the superstructure.
Funded by a loan agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the Government of South Korea through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund, the construction work is under joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumwang with Yooshin Eng’g Corp. in JV with Pyunghwa Eng’g & KyongHo Eng’g & Architects as project consultant.
The bridge project itself is impressive in its own right as the main and approach bridges will feature cast-in-place pile foundations and will be built using free-cantilever and incremental launching methods respectively.
The main bridge will be 320-meter long with parallel high strength HDPE-coated multi-strands stay cable, while the length of the two approach bridge sections and approach roads will be 1.38-kilometer and 1.47-kilometer, respectively.
