PHP 7.3B Panguil Bay Bridge to be finished in 2023

The 3.169-kilometer bridge that will connect Tangub City, Misamis Oriental with Tubod, Lanao Del Norte is set to become a reality. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently announced that they are gearing up to start the sub-structure works of the bridge.

According to DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, the contractor assigned to work on the Panguil Bay Bridge has already started the delivery of equipment and materials to be used for the bridge's foundations. The equipment and materials were supposed to be delivered at an earlier date. Unfortunately, it was delayed due to the restriction of movement of people and goods brought about by the quarantine.

As of March 25, 2021, the major bridge equipment by Korean joint venture contractor Namkawang-Kukdong-Gumwang, has already reached the project site. Onsite equipment includes revolving cranes, tug boats, barges, drilling machines, pile hammers (aka pile drivers), and steel casings. Other land-based machineries such as excavators, dump trucks, payloaders, and rollers have also arrived in Lanao Del Norte and in Misamis Oriental.

To begin construction of the bored pile works and other key infrastructures, the DPWH built an access road, as well as a staging area in Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, and Tangub City, Misamis Oriental last January.

With a total budget of PHP 7.375 billion, the Panguil Bay Bridge project will become the longest bridge in the country. Once completed in 2023, it will surpass the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge which connects Samar and Leyte in Eastern Visayas.

Will the DPWH actually finish the project by 2023? With a two-year deadline, as well as a huge body of water to cross, they better get started on constructing the Panguil Bay Bridge as soon as possible.