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South Korea may provide funding for proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges

Philippines

South Korea may provide funding for proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges

By Tara Yap

ILOILO CITY — The South Korean government might provide funding for the proposed bridges that will link the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros in the Visayas.

This was after Undersecretary Emil Sadain of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Jaejeong Moon, country Director of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank-Philippines) signed the minutes of discussion (MoD) for engineering services last October 28.

“The project is envisioned to be composed of two sea-crossing bridges with a combined total length of 32-kilometers that will connect the three islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros,” the Korea Eximbank-Philippines said in a statement.

An illustration of one of the proposed bridges that will link the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros in the Visayas. (DPWH Facebook Page/Manila Bulletin)

The DPWH also announced that with the signing of the MoD, the supplemental feasibility studies will also be finished and that will be the detailed engineering design.

The proposal for the trans-link bridges has been around for almost 50 years.

DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain (left) and Jaejeong Moon, country Director of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, show the signed minutes of discussion (MoD) for the proposed bridges linking Panay, Guimaras and Negros Islands. (Korea Eximbank-Philippines/Manila Bulletin)

Early on the Duterte administration, it was announced that the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges is part of the priority infrastructure projects.

In a separate pronouncement, Senator Franklin Drilon disclosed that the Chinese backed out from funding the proposed trans-link bridges.

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