By Calvin Cordova
CEBU CITY — The contractor for the third Mactan-Cebu bridge project signed a P19-billion, 15-year loan and security agreement with six local banks.
The Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) and the banks signed the loan facility last Thursday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
(Juan Carlo de Vela / MANILA BULLETIN)
“With the signing of the loan, the third bridge is already half complete,” Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho said.
Officials from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Development Bank of the Philippines, Robinsons Bank, Unionbank, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Security Bank attended the ceremony.
CCLEC will build, own and operate the 8.5-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, a P30-billion venture. CCLEX’s mother company, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), will shoulder the remaining cost.
Construction started last July 25 and is expected to be finished in the middle of 2021.
“We are on track of finishing the project in mid-2021. CCLEX is expected to boost the socio-economic and tourism development of Cebu,” said Rodrigo Franco, President and CEO of MPTC.
The expressway is expected to ease traffic in Metro Cebu since it is estimated that 50,000 vehicles will be using it.
The two main towers which are the bridge’s foundations are nearing completion. The 21 piles of Tower 2 have been completed, while 17 out of the 21 piles for Tower 1 have been installed.
Piling works for the Cebu South Coastal Road on-ramp and viaduct are also under way.