Bridge to be constructed linking Malamawi Island to Isabela

ECONOMIC activity and mobility between Malamawi Island and Isabela City, Basilan, are expected to improve as a 2.24-kilometer bridge is set to be constructed, linking the mainland to the island.

The Isabela City Information Office said the 2.24-kilometer bridge will connect Eastside village on mainland Isabela City to Diki village on Malamawi Island.

The island of Malamawi, which is under the political jurisdiction of Isabela City, comprises of five villages: Carbon, Diki, Lukbuton, Sta. Barbara, and Tampalan.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Zamboanga Peninsula

said the bridge project has an indicative cost of P4.6 billion and is funded through a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The construction of the bridge is part of Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project.

“Once completed, the bridge is expected to significantly improve mobility, economic activity, and access between the mainland and island barangays of Isabela City,” the Isabela City Information Office said in a statement.

The DPWH-Zamboanga Peninsula said the bridge will have two lanes, one for each direction, and a design speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It classified as a national road.

The project features long-span steel box girders and includes both bridge and approach road structures.

On Thursday, May 29, 2025, officials of the DPWH-Zamboanga Peninsula and representatives of the Sama Banguingui and Bajau indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) formally signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the issuance of a Certificate of Precondition for the Isabela City-Malamawi Island Bridge (with Approach Road) project.

Signing on behalf of the DPWH was Engineer Oliver Hernandez, project manager of Regional management Cluster-2 (Multilateral) under the Unified Management Project Office.

Ancestral domain representative Romano Alih signed on behalf of the Bajau ICCs of Carbon, Diki and Tampalan villages.

Jamalul Habibun signed on behalf of Sama Banguingui ICCs of Kaumpurnah Zones 1, 2, and 3 villages.

Lawyer Maribel Idiang, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Zamboanga Peninsula director, represented the NCIP as party to the MOA.

Also standing as witnesses were Engineer George Jocutan, NCIP Basilan provincial officer; Adzhar Tahsin, IPR-Sama Banguingui; and, Mary Mae Julhari, Bajau ancestral domain-holder and City Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative.

The Certificate of Precondition ensures that the project has been approved by the Indigenous communities it may affect, meeting a key requirement for project approval. (SunStar Zamboanga)