MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated on Friday the longest bridge in Mindanao in a move expected to boost connectivity in the long-underdeveloped southern Philippines.
The 3.17-km Panguil Bay Bridge linking Tangub City in Misamis Occidental province to Tubod town in Lanao del Norte slashes travel time from about 2.5 hours to seven minutes.
Funded by a loan from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund, construction of the 8-billion-peso ($143 million) two-way, two-lane bridge started in February 2020 and was completed this month.
“The increased economic activity is going to be a very important development building block for both the provinces and for the entire island of Mindanao,” Marcos said as he officially opened the bridge.
“With this bridge, what once took two hours will now take seven minutes and will benefit 10,000 travelers a day … I would like to highlight the ripple effect it will have on local businesses.”
Approved during the Benigno Aquino III administration in 2015, the bridge’s construction started under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte and was completed under Marcos.
Hailed as a landmark infrastructure achievement in the region, the Panguil Bay Bridge will soon face competition.
The 3.98-km Samal Island-Davao City Connector in Mindanao’s southeastern Davao Region is set to surpass the Panguil Bay Bridge as Mindanao’s longest in 2027.
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