MikeLigalig.com

By June Blanco

  Bohol moves one step closer to the realization of the construction of the bridge linking it to nearby Cebu province with Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.’s commitment of endorsing the same to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as soon as the papers reach his office.

  Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado last week sought Ebdane’s assistance on the documentary requirements after Country Representative Kim of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) assured him in a prior meeting that the Republic of Korea will fund the feasibility study of the same via grant.

  Aumentado said the anchors of the bridge will be Getafe and Cordova towns in Bohol and Cebu respectively. Passing through shallow waters between the two provinces, the bridge is estimated to be 18 kilometers (km.) long – a “baby” compared to the bridge linking Incheon Airport and Incheon City in South Korea, spanning some 45 kms. now undergoing construction.

  To note, Korean Ambassador Joong Kyung Choi had said a partnership between South Korea – with its advanced technology, and the Philippines – with its vast natural and human resources – would be beneficial to both archipelagic countries.

  The Bohol-Cebu Multi-Access Friendship Bridge (BCMAFB) already has Bohol Provincial Development Council (PDC) and Central Visayas Regional Development Council endorsements.

  Next, it will need the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (ICC) and Technical Board approval, and Ebdane’s endorsement to DFA – and on to Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the official release of Official Development Assistance (ODA).

  Aumentado envisions the bridge to improve vehicular and passenger traffic between the two provinces, It can also carry the cable through which Bohol can get more electric power and fiber optics from Cebu even as the latter can also get water from, say, Inabanga in Bohol through pipes astride the bridge.

  The additional power can meet the requirements for the establishment of a shipyard here while the fiber optics will link Bohol to the information and communications technology highway.

  As an eco-cultural and heritage tourism destination, Aumentado has declared that heavy industries that spoil the environment are a no-no in Bohol. At the same time, fiber optics will pave the way for the establishment of call centers here. Meanwhile, water from Bohol will slake the thirst of the Cebuanos.

  Aside from the bridge, Aumentado has also negotiated with EDCF to similarly fund the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phase 3 (BCRIP 3) It covers the Panglao Circumferential and Spur Roads, the two causeways with bridges that link the island to the Bohol mainland, the Tagbilaran Bypass, the Baclayon Diversion Road, and the Anda Peninsula Highway that goes from Guindulman-Anda-Cogtong-Candijay-Mabini-Ubay.

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