Consortium Cebu Link Joint Venture is tapping a 3,000-men workforce as construction for the toll bridge connecting mainland Cebu from Cebu City to Cordova in Mactan island peaks in the coming months.

The consortium, composed of D.M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Spanish conglomerate Acciona and First Balfour, so far has employed 1,849 direct and indirect people for the 8.25-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), which is set to be the longest bridge connecting islands in the country.

“The design, scale and complexity of this project makes it an engineering and construction marvel,” DMCI president and chief executive officer Jorge Consunji said.

The consortium will be constructing 47 percent of the bridge. Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. is responsible for the construction and financing of the project as well as its operation once finished. Project cost is estimated around P26 billion to P29 billion.

The main bridge of CCLEX will span 390 meters and will have a navigational clearance of 51 meters to enable large vessels to pas underneath, DMCI said.

The bridge will feature a lighted cross on top of two 145-meter high pylons. The infrastructure project will be completed in 2021, also the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish colonial period following Magellan’s arrival in the country.

According to DMIC, it has completed the concrete piling for the two towers of the main bridge in May while two lower pylons are nearly completed. Piling works in the Cebu viaduct has also been completed while piling works in Cordova viaducts were concluded last month.

The consortium is also undertaking the construction for the ramps connecting CCLEX to Cebu and South Coastal Road.

DMCI’s net income in the first half declined 35 percent to P440 million from P676 million on the back of provisions for cost over runs.