Cordova, Metro Pacific ink deal for 3rd Mactan bridge

This is an architect’s perspective of the proposed 3rd bridge between Cebu and Mactan islands. The project will be undertaken by the Metro Pacific group.

Construction proposed under PPP, targeted to start in 2018

The Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) yesterday signed a joint venture agreement with the Cordova municipal government for the construction of the P27.9-billion third Cebu-Mactan bridge.

The company, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., targets to start construction in mid-2018 and complete the facility by 2020, said newly appointed  MPTC President and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco, who signed the agreement together with Cordova Mayor Adelino B. Sitoy.

Franco said they hope to complete all requirements and secure regulatory approvals for the project in two years and six months. The project is proposed to be undertaken through the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

Franco said they will also need to seek permission from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) for the construction of a causeway as part of the bridge. A clearance will also be sought from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).

Metro Pacific received last December the notices of award from both Cebu City and Cordova governments for the financing, design, construction, implementation, operation and maintenance of an 8.25-kilometer tollroad to be known as the Cebu-Cordova Bridge.

Lawyer Aristotle Batuhan, MPTC legal consultant, said Mayor Sitoy asked to sign the joint venture agreement ahead of the Cebu City government because the agreement would still need to be reviewed and approved by the Provincial Board.

“The process (is that resolutions, ordinances, agreements and contracts) from the municipal council (are submitted) to the Provincial Board (for approval),” Sitoy said.

The Cordova Municipal Council has passed Resolution 441-13 approving the implementation of the project and authorizing Sitoy to sign the joint venture agreement.

Sitoy said the contract with MPTC would be “advantageous to the people of Cordova.” He did not elaborate.

In a disclosure early this month, parent firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said the project will be “implemented through an unincorporated joint venture among the company, the City of Cebu and Municipality of Cordova.”

The third bridge is envisioned to decongest traffic in the two existing bridges, namely the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and Mactan-Mandaue Bridge.

The project includes the construction of the connections to Cebu City and Cordova, the main bridge structure, viaduct, causeway, roadway and toll facilities.

It is located around 7.5 kilometers south of the Mandaue Bridge and will take off from the Cebu South Coastal Road crossing the Mactan channel to Mactan Island, specifically in barangay Pilipog in Cordova town.