Skip to main content

Head of San Miguel moots a Philippines bridge project in Boracay

The president of infrastructure group San Miguel has mooted that a 2km toll bridge be built to connect the small island holiday resort of Boracay with the Larger Panay Island. Boracay - just over 10km2 - is an increasingly popular international tourist destination around 315km south of the Philippine capital Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of Panay in Western Visayas island group. The island is blessed with exceptionally white sand beaches and is administered by the Philippine Tourism Authority and
June 8, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The president of infrastructure group San Miguel has mooted that a 2km toll bridge be built to connect the small island holiday resort of Boracay with the Larger Panay Island.

Boracay - just over 10km2 - is an increasingly popular international tourist destination around 315km south of the Philippine capital Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of Panay in Western Visayas island group. The island is blessed with exceptionally white sand beaches and is administered by the Philippine Tourism Authority and the provincial government of Aklan.

The bridge would run from the town of Caticlan to Boracay, said San Miguel president Ramon Ang in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper. The cost would be around US$100 million, he reportedly said.

“We proposed the idea to them [local authority]…,” said Ang. Tourism would be greatly boosted for both islands because a road would mean people headed for Boracay could stay in Caticlan overnight and not have to choose between one island and the other.

“We think what’s best is if everybody could stay and eat in Caticlan and go to Boracay to enjoy the beach,” Ang said.

Caticlan airport has recently been upgraded to accommodate the largest of jets.

San Miguel is one of the largest Philippines corporations, focused mainly on food but is branching out into infrastructure, power, mining and general construction work.

Earlier this year, the Philippines government said it might separate a 47km six-lane road construction element near Manila from a complicated land reclamation and dike development contract recently shunned by preferred bidders.

San Miguel Holdings was among the pre-qualified consortia. Others were Trident Infrastructure and Development consortium – consisting of SM Prime Holdings, Megaworld, Ayala Land and Aboitiz Equity Ventures – and the Alloy-PAVI LLEDP consortium.

None of the three qualified bidders for the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike public-private partnership deal submitted final bids for the contract. There were concerns over the legality of reclaiming 700 ha of land and whether investors could make money from it.

Related Content

  • Bids in for Estonia’s Pärnu to Uulu road
    May 31, 2022
    Six companies are bidding for a key road project in Estonia: Verston, Nordecon, GRK, TREV-2, KMG and TREF Nord.
  • Euro Auctions brings in the euros at its Leeds, UK site
    September 6, 2016
    Euro Auctions reports that it had record sales at its three-day auction at its recently expanded Leeds site in the United Kingdom at the end of August. A total of 4,645 lots went under the hammer at the 10.5 hectare site, achieving over €37 million. More than 40% of sales were placed via the internet, a record for internet sales, said Jonnie Keys, general manager of Euro Auctions.
  • Cost soars for Bangladesh’s Karnaphuli River Tunnel
    April 14, 2015
    Amid concern over cost rises, Bangladesh has issued a request for expression of interest to engage a consultant for the proposed the Karnaphuli River Tunnel. The estimated cost to build the Karnaphuli Tunnel has risen by US$205 million, according to the government’s Bridge Authority. A report in the Financial Express newspaper said the original 2km tunnel proposal was prepared two years ago based on a feasibility study. According to Bridge Authority officials, the cost to build the 3.4km tunnel has ri
  • Key Philippines highway projects commencing
    November 28, 2016
    Two major highway projects are now moving forward in the Philippines. One is for the development of a highway stretch to connect the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway. The other is for a new coastal road stretch close to Davao City. The US$485million North Luzon Expressway to South Luzon Expressway highway connection is being handled under a 35 year concession package. Metro Pacific Tollways (MPT) is investing $332 million in the project, which is being handled under the build-operate-tra