President Rodrigo Duterte with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. With the plan to build 8 major bridges that will link several major island groups in the country, Dominguez said Duterte is "committed to the overall economic program" that will make the country's growth more inclusive. File/King Rodriguez, Malacañang Photo

MANILA—The government is looking to build 8 major bridges that will link several islands in the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao as part of its massive infrastructure buildup, the Department of Finance said in a statement Thursday.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the proposed bridge projects set to be submitted to the Investment Coordination Committee for approval include the following:

1) an 18.2-kilometer bridge to connect Samar provinces to the main island of Luzon;

2) a 20-kilometer bridge connecting Leyte to Mindanao through either an underwater tunnel bridge or a long-span overhead bridge;

3) the 5.7-kilometer Panay-Guimaras bridge;

4) the 12.3-kilometer Guimaras-Negros inter-island linkages connecting these islands;

5) the 1-kilometer Bohol-Lapinig Island bridge;

6) the 18.0- kilometer Lapinig Island-to-Leyte bridge;

7) the 5.5-kilometer Cebu-Negros Link Bridge;

8) and the 24.5-kilometer Cebu-to-Bohol Link Bridge.

Dominguez said road networks will also be built to complement these bridges and transform these areas into growth corridors.

“Be assured that President Duterte is fully committed to the overall economic program that will make our growth more inclusive, our people more prosperous and our communities stronger and safer,” Dominguez said.

He said said the estimated cost of the bridges is P269.19 billion.