AG&P Group, Cebu firm sign up for $15-B joint infra push in the Visayas

AFP

Engineering firm Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Co. (AG&P) on Wednesday said its Philippine subsidiary signed up to work with Visayas Neceboley Interlink Holdings Corp. (VNIHC) on a $15-billion government infrastructure project in the central part of the archipelago.

Started in the Philippines and now based in Singapore, the parent firm said the partnership between AG&P Industrial and VNIHC will be for the project management, construction, and delivery of the big-ticket project under the National Economic and Development Authority.

AG&P said that engineering and pre-construction work is expected to begin by the second quarter of this year.

Dubbed as “Neceboley”— Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte—the project is intended to connect these four major islands in the Visayas.

AG&P said the project will be supported by a private consortium of global partners who will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the bridges, road, and mass transit network composed of four-lane bridges with expanded expressways.

VNIHC was granted certificates of acceptance, giving it the original proponent status by the provincial governments of Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol and Southern Leyte to undertake the development under a public-private partnership framework.

As the project proponent, VNIHC will also procure the requirements, plan and reporting in accordance with the rules, regulations and policies of the local government units involved.

VNIHC chair Angel Pio Veloso Jr. said Neceboley involved the development, operation and maintenance of a 238.05-kilometer network of all-weather bridges and expressways.

Veloso said this network will “establish vital connectivity among the major islands of the Visayas region, selected for its rapidly growing industrialization, urbanization, foreign investment, ecotourism and environmental protection.”

Meanwhile, AG&P Industrial president Alex Gamboa touted their company’s experience in the local construction scene, highlighting their past major projects in the Philippines.

These projects include the Ayala Bridge, touted as the first steel bridge in the Philippines, Manila’s water and sewage systems, the Araneta Coliseum, as well as the first LNG import terminal of the Philippines commissioned in 2023.

“Pivotal to the country’s economy, Project Neceboley will transform Visayas into a thriving business hub and accelerate socio-economic development, improving the lives of millions of Filipinos,” Gamboa said.