Work on the Panguil Bay Bridge Project in Northern Mindanao is proceeding as usual, with the necessary substructure works already halfway done, as announced by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
DPWH officials inspect the progress of the off-shore construction works
DPWH officials led by Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain inspected off-shore construction activities by Korean joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumwang on November 3, 2021.
Reporting to DPWH Acting Secretary Roger Mercado, Undersecretary Sadain said that 29 of the 54 bored piles needed for the project have been completed offshore. Additional requirements include two abutments at Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, as well as two pylons of the main bridge.
According to Sadain, each of the completed bored piles undergo cross hole sonic testing one or two weeks after concrete has been poured. This is to assess the integrity of the materials used as well as testing the loads that the bridge can safely carry.
On-site batching plants are working to supply concrete for the needed piles
Two land- and sea-based batching plants are being used for the project, each capable of supplying 120 cubic meters of ready-mixed concrete per hour. One bored pile is completed in an average time of seven days. Sadain said the substructure requirements should be completed by the first quarter of 2021.
Undertaken at a project cost of Php 7.38 billion, the Panguil Bay Bridge is a flagship infrastructure project by the DPWH-UPMO Roads Management Cluster 2 (RMC 2). It aims cut down travel time between Tangub City and Tubod from the present two and a half hours to seven minutes.
Once finished, the infrastructure would be the longest bridge in the Philippines, surpassing the 2.16-kilometer long San Juanico Bridge linking Samar and Leyte in Eastern Visayas.
The bridge is expected to be completed by 2023
The National Economic and Development Authority in Northern Mindanao (NEDA-10) previously gave assurances that the Panguil Bay Bridge will be completed in 2023, regardless of the change in government administration.
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