THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the cobstruction of muti-billion Davao-Samal bridge may start by 2019.

That is, if the management of the Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) will approve the conduct of a feasibility study for the mammoth project.

Mariano Alquiza, regional director of the DPWH 11, hastold reporters that the department has already submitted the result of the pre-feasibility study to the Japanese governement for assessment.

“We will know the result this year,” Alquiza added.

He said the JICA will also include in the assessment the economic viability and the environmental impact of the project which will connect the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) to Davao City mainland.

By then, it will be assessed if the project is ideal for public-private partnership,he added.

Once approved, he said the proposal will apt for feasibility study that could be conducted next year.

By 2018,Alquiza said the JICA and the DPWH target to push for the detailed engineering study.

The Regional Development Council (RDC) 11 approved early last year the conduct of a feasibility study for the construction of the Davao-Samal Bridge.

The proposed bridge is initially estimated to cost some P10-billion.

In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) 11 said the proposal “stems from the results of a pre-feasibility study funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which was a component of the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP) Master Plan formulated in 1999 with an estimated project cost of P6.48 billion for a two-lane suspension bridge with a length of 1,200 meters.”

In a separate study done by consultants from Katahira and Engineers International in 2005, alternative start-end points were recommended which increased the proposed bridge length to 1,350 meters, upping the project cost to P 15.93 billion, the statement added.

However, the study was not pursued since the pre-FS still needs nod from JICA.

Department of Tourism (DOT) 11 regional director Roberto Alabado III said he is hoping the project will be implemented under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

“The feasibility study is very essential to entice the private sector in funding the Davao-Samal bridge,” he said.

This big ticket project gained praises from different stakeholders in the tourism sector because of its positive impact on the economy and tourism industry in Davao City and Samal.