The Department of Public Works and Highways said Thursday it signed a P19.32-billion contract with China Road and Bridge Corp. for the design and construction of the 3.98-kilometer Samal Island-to-Davao City Connector Project.
“We are more than excited to announce that with the signed contract, we can now apply for the loan agreement with the People’s Republic of China through China International Development Cooperation Agency to proceed with the detailed engineering design of the Samal Island to Davao City Connector Project,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
“Brighter future is ahead especially in tourism with the implementation of the toll-free four-lane bridge that will significantly improve mobility and bring down travel time of around 25,000 daily motorists to only two to five minutes between Davao City in Davao del Sur and Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) in Davao del Norte,” he said.
Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office Operations Emil Sadain said CRBC, one of the three shortlisted qualified contractors, bagged the design-and-build contract of the SIDC following the procurement activities held in November and December.
Sadain said that once the DED for the SIDC was completed, CRBC would start the 54-month civil works stage of the project.
The project is envisioned as a modern bridge that will connect the Samal Circumferential Road in Barangay Limao, IGaCoS to Davao City between R. Castillo-Daang Maharlika junction.
Its main span measures 250 meters and has a vertical navigation clearance of up to 47 meters crossing over Pakiputan Strait. The bridge will also be supported by two pylons with a height of 73 meters.
Meanwhile, Villar said a new bridge along San Jose-Rizal Road in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija opened to general traffic.
Built at a cost of P240 million, Sibut Bridge was opened on Jan. 7.