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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Construction of Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge might start in 2026 — Drilon

Construction of Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge might start in 2026 — Drilon

Published Aug 30, 2025 02:43 pm
A PERSPECTIVE of the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge. (DPWH)
A PERSPECTIVE of the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge. (DPWH)
ILOILO CITY — Former Senate President Franklin Drilon said construction of the bridges connecting the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros in the Visayas might start in 2026.
“We hope the start of the project is one year from now,” said Drilon on Friday, Aug. 29, at the general membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) here.
Drilon said preparations for bidding documents of the civil works are underway following the completion of the detailed engineering design (DED) by South Korean firm Yooshin Engineering Corp.
The proposed bridges linking three major islands in the Visayas have been in the drawing board for more than 50 years.
In 1999, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded the first feasibility study for the trans-link bridges.
But the project was set aside in the middle of the 2000s with the Roll-on, Roll-off (RoRo) ports of the Arroyo administration.
It was again in the drawing board during the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III and was pushed by Drilon when he was Senate President.
During the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, the bridges were supposed to be part of the priority projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the ‘’Build, Build, Build’’ program. A feasibility study was conducted by the Chinese government, but nothing came out of it.
In 2022, DPWH announced that South Korea extended a $56.6-million loan for the DED.

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