President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday led the inauguration of the P8-billion Panguil Bay Bridge Project, a 3.2-kilometer bridge expected to vastly improve connectivity and stimulate economic and tourism activities in Northern Mindanao.

The two-way, two-lane bridge is Mindanao's longest sea-crossing bridge and connects Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod town, Lanao del Norte. The project was funded through a loan agreement between the Philippine government and the Korean Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank).

In his speech, the President welcomed the completion of the project four decades after its conception.

“Let me start by saying, ang tagal na nating inantay ito. We’ve waited for this for such a long time. If I have a peso everytime someone asks me ‘when will we finish the Panguil Bay Bridge,’ I would be able to fund a second bridge by now,” Marcos Jr said during the inauguration ceremony held in Tubod, Lanao del Sur.

“But today the waiting is ended. We are here for the inauguration of the Panguil Bay Bridge project, a day that we have long looked forward to.”

The President noted that the project, which would reduce travel time between the two provinces from more than two hours to only seven minutes, is expected to improve the transport systems linking the region’s coastal areas and propel economic growth in the surrounding areas.

Marcos thanked the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea for its crucial role in funding priority infrastructure projects of the Philippine government.

The President noted that 21 ongoing projects and 2 upcoming projects in the country were facilitated with the assistance of the Korean government.

“And that is how involved and how much the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea has been part of all our development programs and all our aspirations for making our people live in a much safer, much efficient and much helpful lifestyle,” he said.