By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson remains hopeful that the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) bridge will finally happen.

Lacson said the bridge project will have a very positive impact for the entire Western Visayas region.

He added that recent developments such as the preparations, studies and designs make the proposed bridge project more promising.

“Anytime that you can connect islands will always bring positive results,” Lacson said.

Lacson said there’s a high possibility that the PGN bridge will materialize under his term considering the project’s impact on the region.

Meanwhile, the National Economic and Development Authority in Western Visayas (NEDA-6) clarified over the weekend that it was the project’s detailed engineering design that underwent bidding, and it would be completed after 18 months.

Once finalized, NEDA-6 said the proposal would be presented to the Investment Coordination Committee and for review and approval.

The PGN bridge project is expected to cost around P187.53 billion and is targeted to be completed by 2030.

According to NEDA’s report, the project involves the construction of a 32.47-kilometer, four-lane two sea-crossing bridges, including connecting roads and interchanges, that will connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.

The project “intends to provide a safer, faster and more convenient transportation linkage between Panay, Guimaras and Negros through a connected land passageway” and is “seen to improve the highway trunk network thus, allowing the flow of people, goods and services between the three islands,” it added./DGB, WDJ