JFE Engineering-First Balfour Joint Venture (JFE-First Balfour) was recently hired by the Department of Public Works and Highways to enhance the earthquake resiliency of Manila’s Lambingan Bridge and Makati’s Guadalupe Bridge.
The P7.7-billion project will be implemented under the government’s Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project, JFE-First Balfour‘ parent companies said in a statement Sunday.
JFE-First Balfour is a joint venture between Japan’s JFE Engineering Corp. and the Philippines’ First Balfour Inc.
The project was awarded early this month to JFE-First Balfour, with the notice to proceed to be issued in the coming weeks.
The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Lambingan Bridge along New Panaderos Street in Santa Ana District and the Guadalupe Bridge along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue in Makati City are two of Metro Manila’s busiest bridges
JEF-First Balfour will demolish the existing concrete of Lambingan Bridge, giving way to the construction of a new and stronger arch steel bridge, the joint venture said.
They will also replace the outer concrete spans of Guadalupe Bridge with steel box girders, while improving its structural stability with new piers and retrofitted abutments.
To maintain traffic flow and minimize disruption during the demolition and construction phases of the Guadalupe Bridge, JFE-Balfour will install temporary detour bridges made out of steel.
The seismic improvement initiative is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to enhance the bridges’ resilience against natural disasters and ensure the safety and reliability of Metro Manila’s key transport routes.
Nearly 400,000 vehicles use the 46-year-old Guadalupe Bridge, while more than 30,000 vehicles use the 50-year-old Lambingan Bridge, the companies said in the statement.
JFE Engineering specializes in large-scale infrastructure projects that include power plants, water and sewerage plants, pipelines, and industrial machineries aside from bridges and steel structures
First Balfour, a subsidiary of the Lopez-controlled First Philippine Holdings Corp., is involved in constructing a number of the country’s biggest infrastructure projects including the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, the 150-MW Burgos Wind Farm, two contract packages for the North-South Commuter Railway, and a hyperscale data center in Quezon City.
