Asian Development Bank approves US$2.1bn finance for Philippines bridge

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved financing of up to US$2.1 billion for the construction of a 32.15-km bridge connecting Bataan and Cavite provinces across Manila Bay in the Philippines.

(Photo: Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Upon completion, it will ease traffic in Metro Manila, allowing for better movement of people and goods, thereby increasing economic productivity in Luzon, the Philippines’ largest region.

The Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB), one of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects, will complete the transport loop around Manila Bay and is said to better link Metro Manila to central Luzon and nearby Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon provinces. 

The project will construct one of the world’s longest marine bridges, including two cable-stayed bridges, 24km of marine viaducts, and a total of 8km of approach road in Bataan and Cavite provinces, according to ADB.

“The BCIB represents the latest instalment in ADB’s broader agenda of support towards strengthening urban and regional transport networks in and around greater Manila. This includes the South Commuter Railway, Malolos Clark Railway, and two other projects currently being prepared for financing – the Metro Manila Rail Transit Line 4 and the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network,” said Scott Morris, vice president for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific at the Asian Development Bank.

The BCIB project will cut travel time between Bataan and Cavite to 1.5 hours from 5 hours, and to about 2 hours from 4 hours between Bataan and Metro Manila.

The Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility, financed by ADB, will provide support for the preparation of the BCIB project, including environmental and social safeguards due diligence, and detailed engineering design.