By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson believes the tourism industry in the Visayas will prosper if the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) bridge project is completed.

Lacson said over the weekend that people from Negros Island will be able to travel easily to tourist destinations in neighboring Panay Island and Boracay.

In turn, he said local economies would also highly benefit from the project.

However, Lacson is concerned on how the PGN project would be funded and is questioning if the bridge would be funded directly by the national government or through private-public partnership.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said recently the construction of the P189.53 billion bridge project will begin in 2025, upon completion of the detailed engineering design and the approved fund for implementation.

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 networks thus, allowing the flow of people, goods and services between the three islands,” the report said./DGB, WDJ