MANILA - The government body tasked with approving major infrastructure projects confirmed on Wednesday the approval of mega-bridges linking several provinces in Luzon and the Visayas.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board said it has approved a proposed bridge connecting the provinces of Cavite and Bataan, and another bridge linking the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.

The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project will connect Brgy. Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan to Brgy. Timalan in Naic, Cavite.

The proposed four-lane bridge (2 in each direction) will span over 32 kilometers, cross Manila Bay and cost P175.7 billion.

"The project will be implemented over a period of six years," NEDA said.

The proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project meanwhile will also have a length of over 32 kilometers including connecting roads and interchanges.

NEDA said The project intends to provide a safer, faster, and more convenient flow of people, goods and services between the three islands.

Also in the pipeline is a fourth bridge linking Cebu and Mactan, which will cost P76.4 billion.

The bridges, which will all be financed via official development assistance, were among the infrastructure projects the NEDA Board confirmed approving. Also approved were the MRT-4 and Edsa Greenway.

The Duterte administration promised to usher in a "golden age of infrastructure" by building new roads, bridges, railways, and modernizing airports and ports.

But the plan hit snags forcing economic managers to revise the government's list of priority projects.

Last year, the government said it was no longer pursuing three inter-island bridge projects costing P161 billion because these were not feasible.

The shelved projects are the 18.2-kilometer Sorsogon-Samar bridge, the 23-kilometer Leyte-Surigao bridge, and the 24.5-kilometer Cebu-Bohol bridge.

Of the original 75 priority projects, only 2 had been finished as of July 2019.