Tubod Mayor Leoncio Bagol made the assurance as he and local and national officials attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the bridge project on Wednesday.
"We have been waiting for this for so long. We consider this bridge a big help to our farmers in bringing their products to Ozamiz where they market their products," Bagol said.
President Rodrigo Duterte led the ground-breaking ceremony for the bridge, which would connect this town and the rest of Lanao del Norte to the Misamis Occidental and the City of Ozamiz.
Funded by the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Agreement through the Korean Export-Import Bank, the Panguil Bay bridge will be the longest bridge in the country at a length of 2.360 km.
It will have approach roads of 1.412 km, and two lanes each measuring 15 meters. Construction is set to begin in January.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar said manpower accounts for at least 30 percent of the bridge's total budget.
He added that event the employees of the shipping lines plying the Tangub-Ozamiz route will be prioritized for work in the PBB construction.
In his speech, Duterte thanked the Republic of Korea for funding the project, saying he considers it as Korea's gift to the Filipinos.
"Korea has a special attachment to the Filipino people. You know why? We fought in the Korean war and a lot of Filipinos died," he said.
The President noted that the bridge will shorten trips from Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City to the cities of Ozamiz, Oroquieta, Dipolog, and Dapitan.
The faster flow of goods, he said, will undoutedly improve both the local and regional economies. [Divina Suson, Ercel Maandig and Richel Umel, PNA]
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