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Bridge linking Cebu to Dumaguete eyed
By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.
September 19, 2009, 5:52pm
Manila Bulletin

DUMAGUETE CITY – A plan linking all the provinces in Central Visayas through by a bridge has been revived during the Annual General Assembly of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 last Friday in this city.

Cebu City South District Rep. Antonio Cuenco, who attended the gathering in Dumaguete City said a bridge connecting Cebu and Negros Oriental would be the best way to improve the two island’s transport links and spur economic growth.

The proposed Cebu-Negros bridge is timely as authorities are gearing up for the feasibility study of the Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge which has already gained funding approval by the South Korean government.

“Cebu to Dumaguete is near. I propose that we put up a bridge linking the two islands as part of our project proposal to the national government,” said Cuenco.

This is not the first time that plans to link the Visayas islands have been discussed. The building of a bridge link between Barangay Bato, Samboan in Cebu and Tampi Wharf in Amlan town, Negros Oriental had already been proposed during the time of then Cebu Governor and Regional Development Council (RDC) Chair Emilio Osmeña. But Negros Oriental Gov. Emilio Macias II said while the plan was laudible, there are some factors that have to be addressed before such bridge can be constructed.

For one, Macias said, the sea current in Tanon Strait between Barangay Bato, Samboan in Cebu to Barangay Tampi in the town of Amlan, Negros Oriental is very strong and a Japanese contractor earlier invited to study the project said it was difficult to build a bridge over the area.

Also, the plan has not taken off due to the high cost — P7 billion at that time — involved in constructing the bridge.

Earlier, in the second RDC meeting held in Bohol, Gov. Enrico Aumentado sought the assistance of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. with documentary requirements after the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) assured him that South Korea will fund the feasibility study on a bridge linking Cebu and Bohol.

Aumentado said the anchors of the bridge will be in Getafe town in Bohol and the municipality of Cordova in Cebu.

Passing through shallow waters between the two provinces, the bridge is estimated to be 18 kilometers long.

The Bohol-Cebu Multi-Access Friendship Bridge (BCMAFB) already has the endorsements of the Bohol Provincial Development Council (PDC) and the Central Visayas Regional Development Council and will need to be approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.

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