The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced the successful launching of one (1) of the four (4) open box-shaped pre-cast concrete assembly on top of six (6) underwater pile foundation for the main bridge pylon of the 3.17-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge Project in Northern Mindanao.
In his inspection report to DPWH Secretary Roger G. Mercado, Undersecretary and Build Build Build Chief Implementer Emil K. Sadain said that the prestressed-concrete (PC) house for main bridge pylon 2 was successfully installed and mounted with welded brackets on permanent steel casing or outer circumferential surface of the pile to prevent the movement of the PC housing.
Undersecretary Sadain, in-charge of Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations implementing large-scale flagship infrastructure projects under the Build Build Build program, explained that the prefabricated PC house will be the foundation for the two (2) pylons each with six (6) piles and piers 17 and 18 with four (4) piles each which are the substructure of the project’s main bridge or the highest segment where marine vessel such as ship could pass underneath.
Waterproof sealing are ongoing to ensure the watertightness between pile and boxlike PC house as this will then filled inside with cast concrete to act as cofferdam or strong foundation to make them stable against various forces which are likely to act on the structure, Undersecretary Sadain reported
This engineering process is to reduce the construction period, secure the concrete quality, and improve the constructability of substructure.
The first PC house, constructed at the fabrication yard in Tubod, Lanao Del Norte and transferred to the marine site using a floating heavy duty crane on barge, was inspected off-shore Panguil Bay on March 26, 2022 by Undersecretary Sadain with Project Director Sharif Madsmo H. Hasim of UPMO Roads Management Cluster 2 (Multilateral).
Also present in the inspection of the on-going flagship project connecting Tubod, Lanao Del Norte and Tangub City, Misamis Occidental are Project Director Benjamin A. Bautista of UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 (Bilateral), Project Director Rodrigo I. Delos Reyes of UPMO Bridges Management Cluster, and Project Manager Mike Ramos.
Given the previous significant disruptions in the project construction activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, DPWH UPMO is committed to further increase its effort to fast-track the completion of the iconic bridge project which will soon be the longest in Mindanao.
Other on-going activities include bored piling works of remaining six (6) of the total 54 units, PC house fabrication, rebar cage installation, abutment rebar and form installation, and pier cap concrete pouring.
The P7.375 Billion inter-island bridge project to connect Tangub City and Tubod across Panguil Bay in just seven (7) minutes is funded by a loan agreement between Government of the Philippines (GOP) and Korean Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank).
Under contract with Korean firm Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumgwang Joint Venture, the project is targetted for completion by December 2023.
