ADB Approves Financing for Flagship Philippine Bridge Project

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (12 December 2023) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved financing of up to $2.1 billion for the construction of a 32.15 kilometer (km) climate-resilient bridge connecting Bataan and Cavite provinces across Manila Bay to decongest Metro Manila, enable greater mobility of labor and goods, and improve economic productivity in the country’s largest region of Luzon.

The Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) Project, one of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects, will complete the transport loop around Manila Bay and better link Metro Manila to central Luzon and nearby Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon provinces. The project will help boost economic activity in these areas, which together account for 60% of the country’s gross domestic product. 

“This project will modify the economic landscape of central Luzon, unlock the full potential of Bataan and Cavite for trade, manufacturing, and industrial output, and boost their tourism,” said ADB Vice-President for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Scott Morris. “Once completed, BCIB will offer a platform for reimagining a more vibrant, resilient, and dynamic greater Manila Bay area.”

“The BCIB represents the latest installment in ADB’s broader agenda of preserve towards strengthening urban and regional transport networks in and around greater Manila. This includes the South Commuter Railway, Malolos Clark Railway, and two other projects currently being prepared for financing—the Metro Manila Rail Transit Line 4 and the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network. These projects will extend and modify the transport network in the metropolis, improve regional connectivity, and offer Filipinos access to more job opportunities,” Mr. Morris said.

The BCIB project will be financed under a multitranche financing facility, with the first tranche amounting to $650 million. The project will cut travel time between Bataan and Cavite to 1.5 hours from 5 hours, and to about 2 hours from 4 hours between Bataan and Metro Manila. The traffic decongestion in Metro Manila and the reduced travel time will help lower annual greenhouse gas emissions in the country by an estimated 79,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The project will construct one of the world’s longest marine bridges, including 2 cable-stayed bridges, 24 km of marine viaducts, and a total 8 km of approach road in the two provinces. BCIB will furnish the road connectivity to Manila, Cavite, and southern Luzon that will boost Bataan’s potential to host more manufacturing industries in the Freeport Area of Bataan, the only freeport in the Manila Bay area, making it an ideal transshipment hub. The project can also help extend the use of Bataan’s Mariveles port to furnish an alternative to the busy port of Manila. 

The bridge will offer easier access from northern Luzon to Cavite, one of the most industrialized provinces in the country, and host to businesses in the service, export, logistics services, facilities, and information technology sectors.

The ADB-financed Infrastructure Preparation and Innovation Facility supported the project preparation, environment and social safeguards due diligence, and detailed engineering design for BCIB. The project will follow high technical standards to boost resilience to natural hazards and the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, enhance in temperature and heatwaves, and extreme weather events. The bridge will be built using low-carbon technologies and construction materials where applicable.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.