#MINDANAO
The Aug. 27, 2024 MB article by Trixie Rosel (mb.com.ph/2024/8/27/dpwh-prepares-for-panguil-bay-bridge-project-inauguration-next-month) highlights the launch of the much-awaited Panguil Bay Bridge, linking Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte.
What does this mean for Northern Mindanao’s economy? Let us see.
I still recall when, in the late 80’s, the road from Cagayan de Oro toward Misamis Occidental was concreted only for the first two or three towns after Iligan, with the rest of the way west being rough gravel road. Today's highway is a wider, built road linking the provinces. The route, though, traverses a long cove or bay separating Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental. To lessen travel times, a roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ferry linked Ozamis and Lanao del Norte, allowing a 10-minute cross.
With this new bridge, travelers need not take the long route or take the ferry around the Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte border to reach Ozamis and even Dipolog in Zamboanga del Norte, which is a ferry gateway to the Visayas. This means more trade, more opportunities for residents, and more jobs. This and other bridge projects, are always welcome developments for a locality since they allow people to interact more frequently at lower cost.
This new bridge is expected to create a more robust Northern Mindanao economic corridor from the cities of Oroquieta, Ozamis, and Tangub in Misamis Occidental, passing through the cities of Iligan in Lanao del Norte and the regional capital of Cagayan de Oro towards the city of Gingoog, also in Misamis Oriental. In particular, an Iligan to Oroquieta economic corridor will take shape, complementing the Cagayan-Iligan corridor.
This means that more farm-to-market, business-to-business, and people-to-people interactions will take place. The income that is generated from such heightened interaction will boost local livelihoods and expand the size of the Northern Mindanao economy, which is now near ₱1 trillion in 2023. With more economic activities taking place in this new corridor, I expect more economic growth for this region which has a population of 5,022,768 in 2020.
The challenge and opportunity of the new bridge lie in harnessing gains while mitigating any negative social and environmental impacts through proper design of the bridge and other mitigating measures, especially during the construction of the bridge and any other infrastructure.
Therefore, the need to keep sustaining the gains of peace and development must be observed, with all sectors working together to address all threats that can undermine these gains. Moreover, we must all work together to further broaden the benefits of these developments by engaging new value and supply chains, bringing us new buyers and suppliers especially from within the island.
By doing these things, the bridges, and all of the new infrastructure built over the last several years, such as the four-lane highways and bypass roads I have driven through will serve their purpose of bringing needed growth, stability, and prosperity to the almost 26 million strong Mindanao economy well into the future.
Air bridges for Mindanao
Apart from this new physical bridge are upcoming air bridges linking Mindanao to the rest of the country and the world. Local airline Cebu Pacific Air recently announced the launch of direct Davao to Hongkong, Bangkok, Puerto Princesa, Caticlan, and Tacloban, as well as a new flight from Iloilo to Zamboanga. These connections will likely boost tourism and trade between Mindanao and the world, further adding to economic growth. We look forward to more direct flight announcements in the future.