SMC bares plan to build Mindoro-Batangas ‘super bridge’

Conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday announced its plan to build a so-called “super bridge” that will connect Mindoro island to mainland Luzon through Batangas.

In a statement, SMC said it is in talks with the local government of Oriental Mindoro, through its Governor Humerlito Dolor, to construct a 15-kilometer bridge connecting the two neighboring provinces.

The company said the planned bridge project will begin from Barangay Ilijan in Batangas, and pass through Verde Island and land in Barangay Sinandigan in Puerto Galera.

SMC said the project is included in the 10 programs of the Marcos Administration for public-private partnership (PPP).

The “super bridge” project was first proposed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali in 2015 and is currently being pushed by the province’s governor “in a bid to help spur growth and development in Oriental Mindoro and the entire MIMAROPA region post-pandemic,” according to the company.

“We have started bringing together global experts across disciplines, including a European architectural and engineering firm to do a technical feasibility study on how the bridge can be built sustainably to benefit both people and the environment,” said SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang.

He added that since his last meeting with Dolor late last year, SMC’s team has engaged the services of a local company to initially do a bathymetric survey to measure water depth.

“We thank Gov. Dolor for pursuing this game-changing project and considering our company to be able to deliver a world-class bridge. It has faced a series of setbacks over the years but we hope that together we can finally bring the vision to fruition,” added Ang.

SMC said the bridge is seen to result in faster and more efficient transport of people and goods and spur local economic growth through job generation, higher investments, and optimization of basic services such as water, power and telecommunications, among others. —NB, GMA Integrated News