DAVAO CITY — The 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge project in Tangub City, Northern Mindanao is now 89 percent complete, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported on Saturday.
The bridge project requires 54 bored piles for the 32 piers, two (2) abutments at Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, and two (2) pylons of the main bridge.
The inter-island bridge that connects Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte, is expected to be finished this year despite funding challenges, Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain, in-charge of DPWH infrastructure flagship projects, said in a news release.
Earlier on, Korean Engineer Tae Hwan Cho told Newsline “At first we train the local workers how to adopt our technology because this is the first in the Philippines, with the ILM technology, the work for ten (10) days can be done in a day because we work 24/7 rain or shine, we have a concrete oven to process the drying and curing of the cement for 38-hours to ensure it does not scour and the quality of the cement is preserved.’
The project as two (2) land and sea-based batching plants on site, each with supply capacity of 120 cubic meter of ready-mixed concrete per hour.
Project Management Office manager Engr. Marlon Galerio of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) explained with ILM “From steel fabrication of the bottom slab to the top slab pouring and oven curing takes more than 38-hours, after which the slab will be placed in a steering launch then lift and push to the ready structure.”
But the inclement weather sometimes delay the delivery of aggregates and other materials which come other towns, Cho explained “It there is delay it is just about 2.2 percent slippage but it is very manageable.”
In the same press statement, Sadain is optimistic that the implementing office, the Unified Project Management Office-Roads Management Cluster II (Multilateral), contractors and consultants would be able to make up for the delays.
The Panguil Bay Bridge project, which began in February 2020, is expected to reduce travel time, boost economic growth, and enhance transportation links between provinces of Northern and Central Mindanao, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
In line with the DPWH INFRAgenda 2028 Strategic Plan, the project envisions a seven-minute inter-island connectivity with Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, and Tubod, Lanao del Norte as opposed to the current access connectivity through Roll-On/Roll-Off (RoRo), which has a travel time of about two and a half hours, including loading and unloading time.
The project is funded by a loan agreement between the Philippines and South Korean governments through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund.
