1,500 kms of roads and 161 bridges built, improved in PBBM's first 6 months

About 1,500 kilometers of roads and 161 bridges were built and improved around the country in six months,  the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said. Public Works and Highways Secretary  Manuel Bonoan in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, March 14, said he presented to the President the infrastructure projects being undertaken by his department from July to December last year. “For the last six months, from July to December, the Department of Public Works and Highways, being the principal infrastructure arm of government has implemented, maintained, constructed and the improved about 1,500 kilometers of national roads and local roads all over the country,” Bonoan said. “And we have also undertaken the construction of about 161 bridges along national roads also and other local roads during this period, about six months, 161 important bridges,” he pointed out. The DPWH chief also reported that they have undertaken 851 flood control projects in flood-prone areas in the country. He also disclosed that some major projects are ready for inauguration before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July. These are the two flagship projects financed through public-private partnership (PPP) — the NLEX-SLEX connector starting from Caloocan to the Skyway Stage III Project of San Miguel Corp, as well as a segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway. Also being lined up for inauguration are the flood mitigation projects in Cagayan de Oro City, a number of road projects in Mindanao and the Central Luzon Link Project connecting Tarlac and Cabanatuan City, Bonoan said. Another major road project is the Samar Pacific Coastal Road, which is the continuation of the Samar roads in the Pacific. One of the significant project that will be implemented in Metro Manila, Bonoan said, is the 32-kilometer bridge that will connect Cavite and Bataan, passing through the Manila Bay. The project, which will be ready for implementation within this year, is composed of two big cable bridges, with one of the bridges spanning 400 meters while the other one is 900 meters. Bonoan noted there are other major bridges being lined up such as the six bridges that will be built across Pasig River, which will be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Exim Bank of China, are also line The President presented these Chinese-funded projects during his state visit to China last January. Other projects lined up for groundbreaking were also presented to Marcos during Tuesday’s meeting. These include the building that houses the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the Philippine General Hospital, the pediatric and adult’s specialty center, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and the Philippine Cancer Center. For this year, the DPWH will implement more than [70,000 infrastructure projects](https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/14/dpwh-ready-to-implement-over-70-000-infra-projects-in-2023) around the country, Bonoan said.