Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) Mayor Al David T. Uy expressed optimism that the loan agreement for the implementation of the Samal Island-Davao City (SIDC) Connector Project between the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Chinese government will be approved before the end of the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Fingers crossed, the Davao-Samal bridge, I know a lot of you have been asking already and I know it has become a joke already but again fingers crossed, the loan agreement with China will be signed before the end of the term of President Rodrigo Duterte,” Uy said during the launch of Damosa Land Inc’s (DLIs) mixed-used development Bridgeport on Friday.
Based on the monitoring done by the Mindanao Development Authority’s (MinDA’s) project development team together with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Davao City side for the SIDC project has been progressing in terms of the notice of taking issuances.
Meanwhile, Davao City-based Chinese Consul General Li Lin remains optimistic that the long-planned bridge that will connect Samal to mainland Mindanao through Davao City will break ground this year with progress in the negotiations for the loan from China.
The National Economic and Development Authority 11 (NEDA) reported in October last year that construction for the Samal-Davao bridge project remains uncertain as loan negotiations with the Chinese government are still ongoing and right-of-way acquisition is still in the assessment stage.
The loan is part of the Chinese government budget that needs to be assessed and passed by Congress.
In January last year, the DPWH signed a P19.32-billion contract with a Chinese firm for the design and construction of the 3.98-kilometer bridge.
