Cebu City officials led by Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella and Vice Mayor Michael Rama visit the construction site of the Cebu Cordova Link Exchange (CCLEX) in this file photo to find out the possible problems like traffic congestion that may affect the South Road Properties when the third Cebu to Mactan bridge will be operational. | Raul Constantine Tabanao
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that the reported delay in the completion of the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) is expected and understandable as a portion of the construction works have been affected by the pandemic.
Labella met with the CCLEX Bridge Management Board on December 15, 2020, to get updates on the Third Bridge’s construction, which was originally set to be completed by August 2021.
However, due to the restrictions of the pandemic, the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), reported to both the Cebu City government and the Cordova Municipal government that the completion will be moved to the end of 2021 instead.
“Ang construction sa bridge nalangan tungod sa pandemic. Pero works go on, but it was agreed upon that before the end of 2021 masumpay na ang bridge,” said the mayor.
(The construction of the bridge was delayed due to the pandemic. The works continue, but it was agreed upon that before the end of 2021, the bridge will have been completed.)
The CCLEC reported to the mayors at least a 60 percent completion on the total project from paperwork to actual construction, a development which the mayor welcomed.
He noted that the bridge connecting the city to Cordova will allow better movement of the public between Mactan Island and mainland Cebu, thereby increasing economic activity in the metro.
The bridge is expected to raise the value of the lots at the South Road Properties (SRP), which are already prime on their own.
The mayor hopes that the CCLEC will stay true to its promise that the bridge will be finished by 2021 and that it will be passable a year from now. /rcg