SAFE TRAVEL OPTION: Study for bridge over Iloilo Strait out soon

GROUNDED BOATS. These motorboats are plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route. They have been grounded by the Maritime Industry Authority following the capsizing of three boats in the Iloilo Strait. The agency has ordered a thorough safety standards evaluation. IAN PAUL CORDERO
GROUNDED BOATS. These motorboats are plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route. They have been grounded by the Maritime Industry Authority following the capsizing of three boats in the Iloilo Strait. The agency has ordered a thorough safety standards evaluation. IAN PAUL CORDERO

ILOILO City – Once completed, the proposed bridge connecting Iloilo and Guimaras Island will be another travel option when crossing the Iloilo Strait to go to any point in the nearby island province from this city. It could curb if not totally eliminate fatal sea mishaps such as the recent capsizing of three motorboats that killed 31 people.

“The feasibility study for the Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridges is expected to be completed this year,” said Anna Mae Lamentillo, chairperson of the Build, Build, Build Inter-agency Committee, during Wednesday’s press briefing in Malacañang.

The bride connecting Iloilo and Guimaras is part of this inter-island bridge project. The other bridge will connect Guimaras to Negros Island.

Given the project’s magnitude, Lamentillo said, the Department of Public Works and Highways is being “very careful” in relation to the design and construction of the bridges.

May requirement po kasi (there’s a requirement). For an inter-island bridge, may required pre-feasibility study, then feasibility study and a detailed engineering design,” said Lamentillo.

Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project is one of the priorities under the Build, Build, Build program of President Rodrigo Duterte, she reiterated.

Duterte was in this city on Wednesday.  He released financial assistance to the families of those who died in the capsizing of three motorboats in the Iloilo Strait on Aug. 3.

CCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China is the company conducting the feasibility study for the proposed bridges, said Lamentillo.

Based on the project profile, the Iloilo/Panay-Guimaras Bridge will start in Leganes, Iloilo and end in Buenavista, Guimaras. It would be between four to seven kilometers long.

On the other hand, the Guimaras-Negros Bridge will start in San Lorenzo, Guimaras and end in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental. It would be between five to 12 kilometers long.

According to Lamentillo, some road sections in Guimaras Island have already been developed and paved, now known as the Guimaras Cross Island Roads, as part of the preparation for the bridge’s construction.

Also on Wednesday, Sen. Grace Poe said there was a need to revive the Iloilo-Guimaras-Negros bridge project because it would benefit the provinces.

In Senate Resolution No. 75, Poe stated that of the six provinces of Region 6, “Guimaras has the most disadvantage due to its small size as well as lack of reliable connectivity to the main island of Panay.”

This lack of connectivity, she stressed, not only hinders the economy of Guimaras but also endangers the lives of people “since boat trips are at the mercy of the weather.”

On Wednesday, Guimaras’ Gov. Samuel Gumarin appealed for help. He said the grounding of motorboats plying the Iloilo-Guimaras route following Saturday’s boat capsizing incident has made it difficult for the people of his province to go to Iloilo City to work, study or do business.

It has also become harder to transport goods from the island province to Iloilo City and vice versa, according to Gumarin.

Bridges connecting Panay, Guimaras and Negros were conceptualized during the administration of then President Corazon Aquino but none of the administrations that succeeded hers managed to concretize the plan for lack of funds.

The bridges would be good for Guimaras’ economy, and tourism industry in particular, said Mayor Eugene Reyes of Buenavista, Guimaras.

More tourists and investors would be coming in, he said.

Aside from export-quality mangoes, Guimaras is famous for its pristine beaches and dive sites. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)

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