The Cebu City Council has authorized Mayor Michael Rama to sign the joint venture agreement with Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) for the Cebu-Cordova Bridge project, allowing the Pangilinan-led company to start working on the regulatory requirements.

Rodrigo Franco, MPTDC president and CEO, said they have until Dec. 23 this year to fulfill the requirements under the JVA.

Among the requirements are permits from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

“We are optimistic (that we can reach the deadline). Because our optimism is anchored on the fact that we think we have a very good project. No agency would go against the project because it’s for the benefit of the people of Cebu, Cordova and the other localities here,” Franco said.

The company could not proceed with the project until Mayor Rama signs the agreement. The company already signed a joint venture agreement with the Cordova municipal government last January.

If all requirements are complied with by December, MPTDC legal consultant Aristotle Batuhan said construction could start by the middle of 2017.

The new bridge, with an estimated cost of P27.9 billion, is expected to be finished in 30 to 36 months and operational by 2020.

It will start near the Cebu South Coastal Road tunnel, where an 825-meter mainspan bridge will connect to Shell Island. A 7.65-kilometer causeway and viaduct will connect Shell Island to Barangay Pilipog in Cordova town.

In his presentation before the council, Franco said they are proposing a web arch bridge similar to the Lupu Bridge in China. It will be constructed about 7.5 kilometers away from the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge.

“It will be the tallest web arch bridge and the highest clearance from the water. Once built, it will have a clear span of 400 meters and a clearance of 51 meters from the water level to the bridge. It will be the first, not just for Cebu City but for the entire Philippines,” Franco told the council.

Batuhan said the Cebu City and Cordova municipal governments will each get one percent of the revenues in the first year of operation, instead of the original proposal of five percent share to be split equally between the two local government units.

“The advantage is since it will be top line, starting on the first year of operation, both LGUs will already start getting a share of the revenues,” he said.

Revenues will come mainly from the proposed P55 toll fee, which will increase to P89 by 2021. The rate still needs approval from the Toll Regulatory Board.

Under the agreement, MPTDC will build the bridge and operate it for 35 years before it is turned over to the LGUs.

Approval of the project is needed from the PRA since some components of the project entail reclamation. The DPWH also needs to ensure that the carrying capacity of the roads to the bridge is enough.

Clearance is required from the CAAP because the project site lies in flypath of the MCIA.