The Chinese government has approved a USD350 million loan to the Philippine government to help fund the construction of the Samal Island-Davao City bridge.
According to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian on his Facebook post, the Davaoeños long-dreamed project will finally come true.
The ambassador exchanged signed framework and credit agreements for the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Project with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III at a ceremony at the Department of Finance in Manila.
The agreement indicates that the Chinese government would offer the Philippines with a USD350 million (roughly around P18.6-Billion) concessional loan to help finance the construction of a two-way four-lane 3.86-kilometer bridge linking Davao City and Samal Island in Davao del Norte across the Pakiputan Strait.
In a separate report, 80% of the total cost will be shouldered by China through this loan while the 20% will come from the national government under the General Appropriations Act.
Thousands of people are projected to be employed in the construction of the project.
According to a Department of Public Works and Highways project report, the bridge connecting Davao City and Samal Island was initially conceived in the 1980s.
The project’s initial feasibility assessment was presented in 2019. The Philippine and Chinese governments signed a commercial deal for the project’s design and construction in January 2021.
It was once estimated that the building would take 54 months or 4.5 years.
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