San Miguel Corp. on Wednesday bared talks with the local government of Mindoro for the construction of a 15-km super bridge that will link Mindoro island with mainland Luzon through Batangas province.
The project is one of 10 under the public-private partnership (PPP) program first proposed by Oriental Mindoro Representative Alfonso Umali in 2015 and currently pushed by Governor Humerlito Dolor to help spur growth and development in Oriental Mindoro and the entire MIMAROPA region.
“We have started bringing together global experts across disciplines, including a European architectural and engineering firm to do a technical feasibility study on how the bridge can be built sustainably to benefit both people and the environment,” Ramon S. Ang , SMC president and chief executive said.
Ang said since his last meeting with Dolor late last year, SMC has engaged the services of a local company to initially do a so-called bathymetric survey to measure water depth.
The bridge will start from Barangay Ilijan in Batangas and pass through Verde Island and land in Barangay Sinandigan in Puerto Galera.
“We thank Governor Dolor for pursuing this game-changing project and considering our company to be able to deliver a world-class bridge. It has faced a series of setbacks over the years but we hope that together we can finally bring the vision to fruition,” Ang added.
The bridge is seen to result in faster and more efficient transport of people and goods and spur local economic growth through job generation, higher investments and optimization of basic services such as water, power and telecommunications, among others.
San Miguel earlier secured a 35-year concession design, build, operate, and maintain the four-lane, 61-kilometer Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway (NBEX ) project for P44.77 billion.
NBEX, which begins at Brgy. Kaylaway, Nasugbu town, runs parallel to the Tagaytay-Nasugbu and Palico-Balayan highways. The NBEX terminus at Brgy. Kaylaway connects the expressway to another SMC Infrastructure project, the Cavite-Batangas Expressway (CBEX), which leads to Tagaytay City and Silang, Cavite.
The company also sealed a 35-year tollway concession from the provincial government of Cavite for the construction and operations of the P27-billion Cavite Batangas Expressway (CBEX) project.
The project involves the construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a 27.06-kilometer toll road traversing the municipalities of Silang, Amadeo, City of Tagaytay, lndang, Mendez and Alfonso in Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas.
