Is the Cebu-Bohol Bridge Still Happening?

Manny Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is still keen on pursuing its proposal to build a bridge linking the island provinces of Cebu and Bohol. Following a report on The Philippine Star, the listed company said on Monday (June 19) that it is interested to bid for the project, as well as the planned Metro Cebu Expressway (MCE).

MPIC said, however, that the terms of the bidding for both projects have yet to be finalized. “CCLEC (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway Corp.) will only be in a position to secure internal approvals and make a final decision whether to proceed with the project after the final terms thereof have been published,” the company said.

The proposed bridge would link both provinces through Cordova in Cebu and Getafe in Bohol via the Olango and Hilutongan channels. Various estimates pegged the length of the bridge from 17.22 kilometers to 22 kilometers including the viaduct.

ALSO READ

Why Did Manny Pangilinan's Metro Pacific Investments Corp. File to Voluntarily Delist from the PSE?

Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge to Cut Travel Time Down Between Provinces to Just 40 Minutes

History of the Cebu-Bohol Bridge

Plans to link Cebu and Bohol with a bridge have been floating around for years, but the project has been most commonly linked to the late Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado. In the late 2000s, there were already plans to conduct a feasibility study for the project, then dubbed the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge, which the Provincial Development Councils of both provinces had approved. 

During the administration of the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, the Cebu-Bohol had been mentioned in relation to his call for more public-private partnerships to improve Cebu City’s economy. The bridge project was one of seven “key areas of concern,” which included the need for more infrastructure, improvement of the tourism industry, reduction of power costs, modernization of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, realization of Panglao International Airport, and the implementation of a mass transit system. 

By 2009, the Provincial Development Council of Bohol and the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas endorsed the project for funding. Then-Bohol governor Aumentado proposed the project to Korean investors, including the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Korea Export-Import Bank (Eximbank). He was also able to ask the Department of Public Works and Highways to endorse his proposal for technical assistance to the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KICA). However, in 2012, the governor died before he could see his dream project come to fruition. 

Aumentado’s son, Erico Aristotle Aumentado, revived plans for the project in 2014 after he was elected representative of the second district of Bohol. That year, development plans for the project moved forward with Australian investors reportedly interested in funding the project. However, the project reportedly earned the attention of Chinese investors in 2014 after it was endorsed by the National Economic Development Agency (NEDA). Rep Erico Aristotle Aumentado said then that the endorsement was made by then-President Rodrigo Duterte through NEDA Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan. 

However, in 2019, the project was reportedly shelved after it was dropped off the list of priority projects President Duterte’s Build Build Build program. NEDA also tagged the Cebu-Bohol bridge as one of the projects that was either “impossible” to build due to technological limitations or “very costly.” 

Not much was heard about the bridge after that, until 2022, when Pangilinan’s MPIC said it had been asked by Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia to again look into the possibility of connecting the two island provinces. But the tycoon made it clear that financing would be a challenge given the enormity of the project. Pangilinan even estimated the project would cost as much as P90 billion.

Despite the hesitations, MPIC’s latest statement confirmed that it is still interested in pursuing the long-gestating Cebu-Bohol bridge project.