Proposed Luzon-Visayas bridge gets P500 million ADB feasibility funding

“We are very pleased that the ADB has decided to come on board the Sorsogon-Samar Transport Crossing (SSTC) project at this early stage,” Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan said.

STAR / File

MANILA, Philippines — Renewed proposals to build a 20-kilometer bridge connecting Luzon via Matnog in Sorsogon to Allen in northern Samar in the Visayas received a major boost, with the approval of a P500-million fund from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a feasibility study for the project.

“We are very pleased that the ADB has decided to come on board the Sorsogon-Samar Transport Crossing (SSTC) project at this early stage,” Eastern Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan said.

“We never doubted the readiness of international development partners to support the project, considering its exceptionally high economic rate of return,” Libanan, House minority leader, said.

The ADB funding of P500 million is aimed at helping bankroll the rigorous feasibility study for the proposed 20-kilometer SSTC over the San Bernardino Strait, in the Philippines’ eastern portion of the Pacific Ocean.

Libanan leads the group of Eastern Visayas lawmakers pushing for a fixed link between Matnog and Allen to provide a permanent road connection between Luzon and the Visayas.

The bridge is expected to reduce travel time between Matnog and Allen to 20 minutes, compared with roughly two and a half hours using the existing roll-on/roll-off ferry system.

The ferry service is also vulnerable to port bottlenecks and disruptions during bad weather mostly during the second half of the year, making a fixed crossing potentially important for more reliable transport and connectivity between Luzon and the Visayas.

The ADB feasibility study funding commitment was disclosed during House plenary deliberations on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s 2027 budget last week.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. relayed the information from DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon while responding to questions from Libanan about the SSTC feasibility study during the Sept. 24 plenary debates.

Momo said the ADB’s P500-million commitment would augment the P130 million initially appropriated by Congress for the feasibility study.

The ADB itself is expected to bid out the study in November, with completion targeted within 12 months.

The proposed SSTC is considered a technically complex and large-scale infrastructure project that would require extensive marine, bathymetric, geological and geotechnical investigations.

The feasibility study would also examine oceanographic conditions, seismic risks, navigation, environmental and social impacts, and the effects of typhoons and other extreme weather events.