The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it expects to start the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) project by 2024.
The agency said the BCIB Project would be divided into seven contract packages, with the construction to begin first in the two on-land packages. Package 1 refers to the 5-kilometer Bataan land approach and package 2 is the 1.35-km. Cavite land approach.
Packages 3 and 4 are marine viaducts in the north and south with a total length of 20.65 kilometers, while packages 5 and 6 are the north channel and south channel bridges with a length of 2.15 and 3.15 km., respectively.
The 7th package involves a project-wide ancillary works.
The 32.15-kilometer four-lane BCIB project by far is the biggest flagship project with a 30.87 percent economic internal rate of return as it will significantly cut down travel time between the provinces of Bataan to Cavite and vice versa from five hours to 45 minutes.
This would ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon and Northern Luzon gateways.
The bridge alignment in Bataan is situated between the Roman Highway, which traverses the barren land area in Barangay Alas-Asin, and then skirts to the shoreline of Barangay Mountain View in Mariveles.
The Cavite alignment starts from the shoreline of Barangay Timalan Balsahan in Naic, then traverses through the agricultural and residential area and terminates at Antero Soriano Highway, which is in a relative flat terrain in Barangay Timalan Balsahan and Barangay Timalan Concepcion.
A tourist center and supporting facilities will be established at the north approach of BCIB, providing information about the rich ecosystem and diversity of destinations on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) committed to funding the civil works construction of the project.