ILOILO CITY, Philippines — The Philippines’ ambitious plan to permanently connect Panay, Guimaras and Negros by road has reached a crucial milestone — but the race to build the massive bridge network may now be as much about controlling its cost as completing the engineering.
The estimated price of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges Project has climbed to ₱331.59 billion, and regional economic officials are warning that additional delays could push expenses even higher as inflation, construction costs and implementation risks continue to build.
The warning comes just as the project moved closer to construction. The final detailed engineering design, or DED, was signed on August 28, 2026, according to Department of Economy, Planning and Development officials. The project is expected to be presented to the government’s Economy and Development Council, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for assessment before financing and implementation move to the next stages.
But after decades of studies, redesigns and shifting schedules, officials are confronting a simple problem: every additional delay could make one of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects even more expensive.
From ₱187 Billion to More Than ₱331 Billion
The dramatic rise in the project’s estimated cost did not happen overnight.
Official DEPDev information in February 2024 placed the indicative cost of the project at about ₱187.54 billion. By March 2026, the Western Visayas Regional Development Council was already endorsing a DPWH proposal estimated at approximately ₱331 billion.
That means the estimate has risen by roughly three-fourths from the 2024 indicative figure.
Even earlier projections were considerably lower. Historical estimates cited in recent regional reports ranged from around ₱53 billion in a 1999 study to ₱28.5 billion in 2010, ₱54 billion in 2011 and later ₱187.53 billion. Those figures, however, came from different periods, scopes and engineering assumptions, so they should not be treated as directly comparable construction bids.
The latest escalation is not being blamed on inflation alone.
DPWH officials and regional reports have pointed to deeper foundation requirements, additional piles and changes in bridge structures discovered as detailed engineering progressed.
That distinction is important: the project has become more expensive not simply because time has passed, but because engineers learned more about what will actually be required to build across challenging sections of sea.
The Seabed Changed the Equation
One of the most significant engineering problems emerged beneath the Iloilo Strait.
Earlier technical planning anticipated shallower foundation work, but subsequent investigations found difficult seabed conditions requiring much deeper drilling. Reports in 2025 said engineers had to reassess foundation depths that had initially been expected at around 75 meters but could extend to approximately 150 meters in some locations.
Those discoveries have major cost consequences.
Longer and more complex foundations require more material, specialized equipment, longer construction periods and additional engineering safeguards. Changes at this scale can ripple through an entire bridge design.
Official DEPDev monitoring had already identified unfavorable offshore geotechnical conditions and adverse weather as causes of delays during the detailed engineering stage in 2024. Those conditions forced engineers to reconsider aspects of span length and superstructure design.
And the challenges do not end beneath the seabed.
DPWH project manager Antonio Erwin Aranaz said in July that powerful currents in the Iloilo Strait and prolonged periods of bad weather could also complicate construction. Barges used during engineering investigations were affected by the strength of the currents, while heavy rains and typhoons interrupted offshore work.
That means even after contracts are awarded, the project will remain exposed to schedule risks that cannot be solved simply by speeding up paperwork.
Construction Has Already Been Pushed Back
The project timeline has changed significantly.
In early 2025, officials were still projecting construction of the first Panay-Guimaras section to begin in July 2026.
That target did not hold.
Under the latest timetable cited by DPWH and regional planning officials, procurement is expected to continue through approximately the middle of 2027, with the first major contract package targeted for award around that period.
Section A, connecting Panay and Guimaras, is now scheduled to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Section B, linking Guimaras and Negros, is expected to follow in the first quarter of 2028.
Both sections are eventually expected to be constructed at the same time, with completion of the full system targeted for around mid-2033.
Right-of-way and land-use requirements were among the reasons cited for the schedule reset.
The risks extend beyond land acquisition. DPWH has also identified undersea telecommunications infrastructure along portions of the proposed alignment as another issue requiring coordination.
South Korea Financing Remains Crucial
Funding will be another major test.
South Korea, through its Export-Import Bank and Economic Development Cooperation Fund, has been central to the project’s financing structure.
Recent government and regional reports say Korean financing has been committed for the Panay-Guimaras section, while financing arrangements for the longer Guimaras-Negros portion are still being finalized or pursued.
After the Economy and Development Council reviews the final design and gives the project clearance to proceed, the Department of Finance is expected to handle the next stages of funding arrangements.
That makes the coming approvals particularly important.
A construction delay does not merely move the completion date. It can affect financing assumptions, materials prices, labor costs, contractor bids and contingency requirements — potentially forcing another revision of the project’s budget.
Why the Government Still Wants the Bridge
Despite its ballooning price tag, the PGN project promises an enormous change in transportation across Western Visayas and the Negros Island Region.
The bridge system will run for roughly 33 kilometers, with one section connecting Leganes, Iloilo, to Buenavista, Guimaras, and the second crossing from San Lorenzo, Guimaras, to Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.
Its biggest selling point is time.
Travel between Panay and Negros can currently require roughly three to four hours using ferry or roll-on/roll-off connections. Government projections say the completed bridge network could cut that journey to about one hour or less by road.
That could create a continuous highway connection across three major islands, making the movement of people and cargo faster and potentially strengthening tourism, logistics, agriculture and regional trade.
For businesses, the economic value is not simply shorter travel time. A permanent all-weather connection could reduce dependence on ferry schedules and make supply chains between Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros more predictable.
The Bigger Question Is No Longer Whether It Can Be Designed
After years spent moving through feasibility studies and detailed engineering, the PGN bridge is entering a different phase.
The design milestone removes one major uncertainty.
The next questions are harder: Can the government secure financing on schedule? Can procurement proceed without another major delay? Can right-of-way, offshore construction and environmental challenges be managed? And can officials keep the ₱331.59-billion estimate from climbing again before the first major foundations are even built?
Regional officials are effectively arguing that delay itself has become a financial risk.
The project may eventually transform transportation across the central Philippines. But with construction of the first section now targeted for late 2027 and completion around 2033, the most expensive part of the PGN story may still lie ahead.
And for a mega bridge whose projected cost has already undergone several major revisions, the next number announced by government could become almost as important as the date construction finally begins.
WWC ONE MEDIA MJE
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