By Minka Klaudia Tiangco

The joint venture group of three major Korean construction firms is set to begin construction of the Panguil Bay Bridge this month.

In a meeting with officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumgwang CEO and President Geun Young Kim said they will begin mobilizing personnel and equipment for the detailed engineering, design, and construction of the bridge on Friday.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the Panguil Bay Bridge is a mega-bridge that will provide convenient inter-travel in Northern Mindanao.

It is a flagship project infrastructure project under the supervision of the DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) – Roads Management Cluster 2 (Multilateral), he added.

Undersecretary Emil Sadain, head of the DPWH UPMO Operations and Technical Services, said the P6.4-billion bridge is a 3.77 kilometer two-lane bridge.

It will connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod town in Lanao del Norte, dramatically reducing travel time between these two areas from two and a half hours to only 10 minutes.

The target completion date of the said project is still being discussed.