by Genalyn D. Kabiling
Malacañang has welcomed China’s latest grant to finance the construction of two bridges that aim to ease traffic woes in Metro Manila.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the financial grant covers the design and construction of the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridges in the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong.
The agreement, Abella said, was recently signed by Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar and Embassy of China in the Philippines Economic and Commercial Counselor Jin Yuan.
“According to the initial project design, the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge will have four lanes and a total length of 807 meters,” Abella said. “Similarly, the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge will be a four-lane bridge,” he added.
China’s infrastructure grant for the Philippines was among the four bilateral pacts signed by the two countries during President Duterte’s visit to Beijing last May.
Under the “Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation,” China offered a 500-million yuan (R3.6 billion) grant to the Philippines “to conduct feasibility studies for major projects, construction of the drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation center and bridges crossing the Pasig River, and other projects agreed by both sides.”
