BIZ BUZZ: AG&P plans $15-B Visayan road network

Engineering firm Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Co. (AG&P) will soon study the feasibility of a $15-billion mega infrastructure project that will connect Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte through a network of bridges and tollways.

AG&P Industrial president Alex Gamboa told Biz Buzz that a detailed study would run for about 13 months, after which the construction works could start within 18 months.

“Our expectation is that this will run for close to 10 years, total. But phase one will be for a period of three to four years,” Gamboa said.

Last April, AG&P announced that it had signed a memorandum of agreement with the Visayas Neceboley Interlink Holdings Corp. to work on the project, which is part of the infrastructure pipeline of the National Economic and Development Authority.

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The massive undertaking includes the development, operation and maintenance of a 238.05-kilometer state-of-the-art, all-weather bridges and expressways network to connect the four major islands.

While a decade seems too long for the public to reap the full benefits of improved connectivity in the Visayas, it is still good to hear that some parts of the bridges and tollways project may be usable by the tail-end of this administration.