President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday hailed the planned construction of the Php175.6-billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB), which will cut the Central Luzon-Calabarzon travel time from five hours to just 45 minutes.
“With the BCIB, it is projected that that five hours trip will now become as close – as quick as 30 minutes, reducing by as much as 86 percent, and we are reducing it to maybe 45 minutes of travel,” President Marcos said during the bridge’s milestone ceremony in Mariveles, Bataan.
“That will be an incredible feat when it happens and would significantly help in decongesting Metro Manila as motorists will be able to travel without passing through the metropolis,” the chief executive pointed out.
Once completed, it will also help in bringing prices down for goods and services as the transport and logistics costs will decrease, thereby generating immense savings all around, the President said.
New opportunities will likewise be opened to Bataan and Cavite and their surrounding provinces because of the easier access that will be made available.
The bridge’s construction will also support the development of seaports in the two provinces, making them potential international shipping gateways of the country, the chief executive said.
The highlight of Friday’s event was the ceremonial switching of the offshore drilling equipment used in the geotechnical investigation for the BCIB, as well as the presentation of milestones of the project’s Detailed Engineering Design (DED).
The 32.15-kilometer, four-lane, inter-island bridge will connect Brgy. Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan and Brgy. Timalan Concepcion in Naic, Cavite and once completed, it will be the longest bridge in the Philippines.
The BCIB will have two navigational bridges: the 400-meter North Channel Bridge and 900-meter South Channel Bridge, which will traverse Corregidor Island. About 80 percent of the structure will be over the sea.
Primarily funded through Official Development Assistance loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), BCIB’s construction is expected to last for 60 months and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2028.
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