Contractors and engineering companies from South Korea have expressed interest in participating in the procurement of the design and build of a mega inter-island bridge project in Luzon, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Friday, May 12.
(Photo: DPWH)
DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said the proposed Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project was featured at the Global Project Plaza 2023 held in conjunction with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting in Incheon, South Korea recently.
During the ADB meet, Sadain provided a detailed briefing of the 32.15-km, four-lane inter-island bridge project “that can be joined by Korean and other international companies when the procurement for the civil works roll out in the coming months.’’
Sadain stated that the on-going detailed engineering design (DED) of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project is now at 85 percent and is expected to be finished in June 2023.
The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project is being developed by the DPWH Unified Project Management Office – Roads Management Cluster 2 (Multilateral) with technical assistance funding from the ADB to advance the detailed engineering design.
Meanwhile, the DED contract was awarded to the joint venture of TY Lin International and the Republic of Korea’s Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants, working with Switzerland-based Renardet and the Philippines’ DCCD Engineering Corporation.
“Feasibility study for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project that was started in March 2018 was funded under ADB’s Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility Loan. Together with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), ADB has also committed to co-finance the civil works construction,’’ the DPWH stated.
“The alignment of the proposed bridge will cross over the Manila Bay – a natural harbor that is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north, and Bataan on the northwest,” it added.
Last March 31, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan led the ceremonial switching of the button to signal the start of the geotechnical investigation of the project.
Due to the scale of the project, the DPWH said that seven design packages have been identified, reflecting a convenient division of future construction packages.
The construction will first begin in the two on-land packages, five-kilometer Bataan Land Approach under Package 1 and 1.3-kilometer Cavite Land Approach under Package 2 .
“Packages 3 and 4 are North and South Marine Viaducts with a total length of 20.6-kilometer,” the DPWH noted.
The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project includes the construction of two cable-stayed navigation bridges on either side of the historic Corregidor Island.
Called the north channel bridge and south channel bridge, the structures that will stand in water as deep as 50 meters will have main spans of 400 meters and 900 meters, respectively.
The North Channel Bridge with high level approaches of 2.1 kilometer in length will constitute Package 5, while the South Channel Bridge with high level approaches at 3.1-kilometer length will be the Package 6.
“The 7th Package involves a project-wide ancillary works,’’ the DPWH said.