MANILA, Philippines — The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, a flagship infrastructure project slated to undergo construction this year, has received a P64-billion financing from Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
In a statement on Friday, the multilateral development bank said the funding would support the government’s infrastructure drive that aims to improve connectivity across the country.
The 32-kilometer (km) inter-island bridge is designed to have energy-efficient street lights and climate-resilient bridge alert systems.
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The bridge starts from Barangay Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, crosses Manila Bay, and ends at Barangay Timalan in Naic, Cavite. The project is designed to reduce travel time between the provinces to 45 minutes from 5.5 hours.
‘Climate-resilient’
“The approval of the AIIB loan for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge project signifies a significant step toward realizing our vision of fostering inclusive and sustainable growth within the Greater Manila Area,” said Rajat Misra, AIIB acting vice president for investment operations in South Asia (except Afghanistan and Pakistan), Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.
“By prioritizing climate-resilient infrastructure and leveraging technology, we aim to not only enhance connectivity but also contribute to the region’s economic development while mitigating and adapting to environmental impact,” he added.
The Bataan-Cavite bridge, which is part of the government’s Inter-Island Linkage Bridge program, is one of the current administration’s infrastructure flagship projects.
Cavite projects
The inter-island bridge is also among the big-ticket infrastructure in Cavite, which has an estimated P2 trillion worth of public-private partnership projects in the pipeline.
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It includes the 88-km Cavite-Batangas Expressway and Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway. The P72-billion project will traverse Silang, Amadeo, Tagaytay, Indang, Mendez, and Alfonso in Cavite and will link motorists to Nasugbu and Bauan, Batangas.
The $11-billion Sangley Point International Airport by the Virata-Yuchengco-led consortium is also part of the pipeline. The group seeks to provide an annual capacity of 25 million passengers initially. It also plans to create a second runway to expand capacity to 75 million passengers per year.
The provincial government is firming up a busway system linking Naic to Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway and a bulk water supply project.