The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has signed officially the P2.671-billion contract agreement for the detailed engineering design of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan approved the contract agreement between the national government and its partners from the Republic of Korea on December 20, 2023.

DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain signed the contract with Jeong Hwan Kim, authorized representative of the joint-venture engineering companies; with Project Director Benjamin Bautista of the DPWH Unified Project Management Office Roads Management Cluster I; June Balisi, DPWH chief accountant-officer in charge, and Jae Hun Ryu, president of Kyong-Ho Engineering and Architects Co., Ltd. as witnesses.

The detailed engineering design is expected to be completed by 2025.

Civil works are to follow, from 2025 to 2032, expected to cover the construction of two 32.47- kilometer sea-crossing bridge and connecting roads that will link Metro Iloilo of Panay Island to Guimaras Island- Province and Negros Island in Western Visayas.

DPWH said that the 13-kilometer Panay-Guimaras bridge dubbed “Section A” has an estimated civil works cost of ₱57.702 billion.

Meanwhile, Section B which will cover the 19.47-kilometer Guimaras-Negros islands bridge is pegged at ₱109.76 billion.

The bridge, described to be anticipated highly, is expected to reduce travel time from Panay island to Negros island from four hours via ferry boat to approximately an hour only via land travel using the said megastructure.