ILOILO CITY — In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. mentioned the proposed mega-bridges for Western Visayas region as well as improvement in the power transmission highway.
Marcos said that the bridges linking the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros will be part of his administration’s Mega Bridge Program, which will be a 90-kilometer project linking major islands in the country that still lack inter-connectivity.
The 32.5-kilometer mega-bridge project has been in the drawing board for more than 50 years and past administrations have all assured it will be constructed including the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Last year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced that the Export-Import Bank of Korea approved a loan for $56.5 million to fund the project’s detailed engineering design (DED).
It is unclear when the DED or when actual construction will start on the bridges, but various officials keep claiming it will be built.
Marcos also mentioned the need to improve the country’s power transmission highway.
He urged the privately owned National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to finish the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) interconnection.
This was months after Western Visayas suffered massive blackouts in April.