Technology exchange with South Korea to aid DPWH in building excellent bridges

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launched a pioneering technology transfer program in South Korea to revolutionize the construction of bridges connecting land and sea such as the proposed 32.47-kilometer Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges (PGN0 project, an infrastructure Flagship Project (IFP) under the ‘Build Better More” Program with funding assistance from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM).

Public Works Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, in charge of DPWH infrastructure flagship project, said the construction of inter-island connectivity like the PGN bridges are now under detailed engineering design stage.

“This is also a paradigm shift in the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ approach to infrastructure development of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration with the expected integration of advanced materials, digital design technologies, and streamlined construction techniques and methodologies which was applied by South Korea in its land-to-sea bridge construction,” Sadain added.

Sadain was part of the delegation of DPWH that participated in the technology exchange initiative to gain a comprehensive understanding of South Korea’s visionary approach to the development of infrastructure projects including its systematic operation and management last month.

The DPWH believes that by embracing innovative engineering methods, collaboration, and harnessing the power of smart infrastructure solutions, the Philippines will soon be at the forefront of bridge construction excellence.

Aside from the PGN, the DPWH, under the Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations will soon commence the civil works of the Bataan-Cavite link bridge, a 32-kilometer-long marine bridge comprising two cable-stayed bridges for the navigation channels with 24 kilometers of marine viaducts and eight kilometers of approach rods connecting the provinces of Bataan and Cavite over Manila Bay.