The Japanese companies were contracted by the Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA). One of group studying on the bridge was Katahira Engineers International.

Alquiza said the Japanese consultants are eyeing on two possible routes because of its short proximity to the island city. These routes are both located in Davao City and not in Panabo City, as earlier proposed.

Alquiza said one of the two routes will be from the Km. 9 in Sasa going to Babak District. The director failed to identify the specific area but he said it will be the most possible because the proposed bridge will be shorter if constructed in this area.

“The bridge will be more than a kilometer, shorter that the proposal to build the bridge in Panabo City which may reach 2 kilometers,” Alquiza said. 

The funding for the pre-FS came from the JICA, he added.

Alquiza said the study has already started and the group targets to have an exit conference with the DPWH on September 14. 

Prior to the conference there will be also a public consultation on stakeholders from Davao City and Igacos.

However, the Regional Development Council (RDC) 11 approved the conduct of a full blown feasibility study for the construction of the bridge which has an estimated cost of P10 billion earlier this year.

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 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.

RDC 11 approved a recommendation by the consultants for the conduct of a full-blown feasibility study on the project in 2015. The feasibility study will be funded by the NEDA Feasibility Study Fund and is targeted to be completed by 2016 before Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario steps down from his post next year.

Del Rosario said in the same briefing event on Wednesday that the construction of the bridge will boost the local tourism as well as the number of investments in the island.

“Ito din ay magiging daan upang maging mas maitaas pa ang katayuan ng syudad bilang isang investment at tourism hub (This bidge will serve as a mechanism to uplift the standing of the island as an investment and tourism hub),” Del Rosario said.

Del Rosario, who is also the chair of the RDC, also appealed to the President to continue supporting the development of the island through projects in the future.