Driving or riding from Metro Manila to Bataan can be very time-consuming and expensive. Despite how close the two areas appear on the map, motorists have to take long inland routes and pay multiple toll fees to get there. That could change in the future if the proposed Manila-Bulacan-Pampanga-Bataan coastal road pushes through.
The proposed project is also being designed as a flood-control structure.
Just recently, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said that the long-proposed Manila-Bulacan-Pampanga-Bataan coastal road project has taken a step forward after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) began work on its feasibility study.
According to Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, the study will help determine the project’s alignment and lay the groundwork for securing funding. Officially called the Manila Bay Integrated Flood Control, Coastal Defense and Expressway Project, the development is envisioned as both a flood mitigation structure and a new transport corridor linking Metro Manila with the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan.
For motorists, the project could provide an alternative route to Central Luzon while helping address the recurring flooding that has long affected communities along Manila Bay. Residents of Hagonoy and Calumpit in Bulacan, in particular, have endured decades of flooding caused by high tides and storm surges.
Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando welcomed the development, saying the project could finally deliver a long-term solution to the area’s flood problems. He cited the success of the dike system in Obando, where flood protection works completed by the DPWH in 2012 have reportedly prevented major flooding for more than a decade.
The project was recently endorsed by the Regional Development Council of Central Luzon after years of lobbying by local officials. Fernando, former Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda, and Bataan Governor Jose Enrique Garcia III first presented the proposal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during an RDC meeting in 2023. It was pushed again in 2025 before gaining approval.
Construction is expected to take at least five years once the project moves beyond the planning stage. It is also expected to complement the ongoing USD 3.9-billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, another major infrastructure development supported by the ADB.
