Marcos inspects Davao River bridge

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Thursday cast the newly completed Davao River (Bucana) bridge as a preview of a broader transport overhaul in Mindanao, saying the project marks the early stages of a multi-year buildout aimed at cutting travel times, easing congestion and preparing the region for faster economic growth.

Mr. Marcos said the 1.3-kilometer bridge — set to open to motorists on Dec. 15 — forms a critical segment of the wider Davao City bypass, which is slated for full completion by December 2027.

Once finished, the bypass is expected to shorten cross-city travel to as little as 20 minutes from nearly two hours, a shift that will position Davao to absorb larger commercial flows and new investments, he said.

“This is one of the four major projects that we — our legacy projects that we will be finishing in Davao and its environs,” Mr. Marcos said at the bridge inspection, adding that each new segment brings the administration closer to a modernized transport grid across Mindanao.

He said future phases of the bypass and adjacent links will create a more efficient logistics corridor, reducing bottlenecks that have long held back regional productivity.

The project, approved in July 2022 and started in late 2023, was accelerated with the help of Chinese contractors, whose technology and cost-efficient methods, Mr. Marcos said, enabled rapid construction.

As the administration races to open more sections of the bypass over the next two years, Mr. Marcos said the Bucana bridge stands as an early indicator of what the government aims to replicate across the region: faster infrastructure delivery, smoother mobility, and a transport network capable of supporting long-term growth. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana