The Provincial Development Council (PDC) of Negros Occidental has endorsed the conduct of a feasibility study for the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project.
This was confirmed on Saturday by Provincial Planning and Development Officer Ma. Lina Sanogal, who also sits as PDC secretary, following the council’s second-quarter meeting held at the Capitol Social Hall on Friday.
The resolution was endorsed by the PDC to the Provincial Board and the Regional Development Council 6 (Western Visayas) for appropriate action.
“The Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project will connect Panay, Guimaras and Negros Island and provide an efficient thoroughfare system for Western Visayas, and to pursue the project, a feasibility study shall be conducted to assess the project’s economic and technical viabilities and other related factors crucial to the project’s completion,” it stated.
Moreover, the resolution said the project is in line with the development thrust of Negros Occidental province, particularly on infrastructure and economic development.
However, the PDC recommended that the feasibility study also consider other areas aside from the municipality of Pulupandan, as routes of the bridges project, such as the cities of Bago and Victorias, and the municipalities of EB Magalona and Valladolid.
During the meeting presided by Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., together with Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, the project proposal was presented by engineer Severo Ruiz, officer-in-charge of the plans and designs division of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Region 6.
The Proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project is undergoing a feasibility study under CCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China.
The study, which began in November 2018, is expected to be completed by January 2020.
Based on the project profile, the two proposed bridges are the Panay-Guimaras Bridge, which will start in Leganes, Iloilo and will end in Buenavista, Guimaras, and the Guimaras-Negros Island Bridge, which will start and end in San Lorenzo, Guimaras and Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, respectively.
As part of the preparation for the construction, some road sections in Guimaras Island have already been developed and paved, now known as the Guimaras Cross Island Roads. (Nanette Guadalquiver, PNA via NDB)